Just thinking about the inexact science, and the hundreds of different factors that athletic directors put into scheduling is enough to make my head hurt. It's a job you certainly have to have a knack for.
Enter Ohio State executive associate athletic director Martin Jarmond, the man beyond the scheduling of Ohio State's football schedule. Jarmond sat down with Ohio State's The Lantern TV to share a unique behind the scenes perspective on the Buckeye's scheduling process.
Interestingly enough, Jarmond's original job description didn't call for him to schedule Buckeye football games, but when he was hired in 2009, he specifically asked Ohio State vice president and athletic director Gene Smith if it's something he could take over.
Now, Jarmond meets with Smith regularly to map out the vision of the program and the strategy behind what they want to accomplish when scheduling opponents.
"I sit down with Mr. Smith and come up with a philosophy on how we want to schedule, or what we want as our strategy. His, that he's outlined, is that we want to get try to get at least one top 10 opponent every year, then a top 25 or top 30 type opponent, and then maybe a top 50...or what you can attract."
There's a lot more that goes into the process, including researching trends on where teams have placed in the past 15 or 20 years, whether there is an alumni and recruiting base near the program's location, their Sagarin strength of scheduling ratings, and their conference, among other various factors.
Hear more on the strategy, and how it's constantly evolving, from Jarmond in the interview below.