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Urban Meyer Recalls Bret Bielema's Furious Reaction After He Broke the ‘Gentleman's Agreement'

Urban Meyer Recalls Bret Bielema's Furious Reaction After He Broke the 'Gentleman's Agreement' originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Former Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer hasn't worked in the college ranks since 2018, but his legacy and impact still resonate all these years later. The 60-year-old coach seems to be enjoying his time away from the game as a co-host of "The Triple Option" podcast and making the rounds across media to recall stories from the good ol' days. Advertisement On Wednesday, Meyer joined Colin Cowherd on "The Herd" to talk about the Big Ten, the Week 1 matchup between the Texas Longhorns and Ohio State and how he inadvertently upset another Big Ten coach on the recruiting trail. 'I leave the SEC and I come to Ohio State, and there was something called a 'gentleman's agreement.' [Then-Wisconsin] coach [Bret] Bielema got really pissed off at me when we turned a couple players." In 2012, Meyer returned to the college football coaching ranks by joining the Ohio State Buckeyes. That year, Meyer assembled the fourth-best recruiting class, according to Rivals, a significant improvement from the school's 11th-best class in 2011. Former Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer salutes fans chanting his name.© Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images "I didn't know [about any] 'gentleman's agreement.' I'm not sure what that means," said Meyer. "In recruiting, you've got to go get players. We had two kids from Ohio committed to Wisconsin and we got them. We flipped them. Advertisement "People were saying, 'Well, you know, in this conference, you don't do that.' And I was like, I don't ... I [didn't see] that anywhere in my contract. That's not against the rules. I got a job at Ohio State to go win games. So, I'm going to recruit whoever the heck we want to recruit." As it turns out, 2012 would be Bielema's last season coaching at Wisconsin. Bielema is now the head coach for the Illinois Fighting Illini, a position he has held since 2021. In telling the story, Meyer is making a larger point about how recruiting has changed in the Big Ten. In closing, he cites that 71 Big Ten players were drafted into the NFL in 2025 compared to 28 just 10 years ago. In 2015, the Big Ten had 155 players drafted into the NFL over the previous five years, finishing behind the SEC (246), ACC (185), Pac-12 (160) and ahead of the Big 12 (120), which supports Meyer's conclusion. Advertisement Related: Urban Meyer Makes Stance Clear on Michigan's Sign-Stealing Scandal Related: Urban Meyer Hails Two Big Ten Powerhouses For Adapting to New NIL Era This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared.