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Dan Murphy, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

OSU board to meet Wednesday about Urban Meyer investigation

College Football, Ohio State Buckeyes

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State's board of trustees will meet Wednesday morning to discuss "personnel matters" related to the recently concluded investigation involving football coach Urban Meyer.

Investigators working on behalf of Ohio State briefed the trustees on their findings during an informal meeting that lasted nearly three hours Monday afternoon. Several trustees and members of the six-person investigative group declined to answer questions while leaving the meeting on campus.

"We'll have things to say later," said trustee Alex Fischer, one of three board members who took part in the investigation.

A statement issued by the university Monday afternoon said that no decisions would be made about Meyer's future or any other aspects of the investigation during Monday's meeting. Ohio law requires the school to give the public 24 hours of notice before holding any formal meeting in which a decision would be made.

"The board will not deliberate or discuss any public business or make any decisions today based on the information presented during the session," the statement said. "Today's briefing is to ensure that board members are adequately prepared to discuss this matter at Wednesday's meeting."

There is no deadline for when Ohio State's trustees and university president Michael Drake will make a final decision on whether any further action is warranted.

Ohio State placed Meyer on paid administrative leave Aug. 1 after the ex-wife of a former assistant coach accused Meyer and others at the university of mishandling allegations of domestic abuse she made years earlier. Courtney Smith said in an interview with Stadium she believed that Meyer and others in the football program knew about former wide receivers coach Zach Smith's abusive behavior for years and did nothing to help her or discipline him.

Meyer fired Zach Smith on July 23 after allegations about a pattern of troubling behavior were brought to light by college football reporter Brett McMurphy. Meyer told reporters the following day that he knew nothing about a 2015 police investigation involving his former assistant coach. He later reversed course, saying he was not well-prepared and failed to be accurate when answering questions about Smith's past.

Zach Smith said he received a phone call from Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith in October 2015 telling him that he needed to return to Columbus because police wanted to speak to him about a domestic assault accusation. Zach Smith was not charged with a crime for that incident. He said he spoke to Gene Smith and Meyer about the issue that fall.

Gene Smith, who has been Ohio State's athletic director for more than a decade, declined requests to answer questions about the 2015 incident. A university spokesman said Gene Smith was on vacation during the investigation but was available to answer questions from investigators if needed.

The university appointed a special working group, led by Mary Jo White, to investigate Courtney Smith's allegations on Aug. 4. White is a former federal prosecutor and chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission who now works for a private firm and has previously led multiple high-profile investigations for the NFL. She joined Monday's meeting via telephone. Other members of the special working group were on campus for the meeting.

The group interviewed several parties during a two-week probe, including Courtney and Zach Smith. They concluded their review Sunday.

Drake and the board of trustees will decide if any further action is necessary after reviewing the results of that investigation. Meyer has not been able to interact with the football team during his nearly three weeks on leave. The Buckeyes open their season Sept. 1 with a home game against Oregon State.

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