Jim Tressel James Patrick " Jim " Tressel ( born December 5 , 1952 ) is a former American football coach and educator , currently serving as the Vice President of Strategic Engagement for the University of Akron . He was football head coach at Ohio State University from 2001 to 2011 and at Youngstown State University from 1986 to 2000 . Tressel ' s Youngstown State teams won four NCAA Division I - AA Football Championships , and he was hired by the Buckeyes before the 2001 season to replace John Cooper . During his tenure as Ohio State ' s 22nd head football coach , Tressel ' s teams played in three BCS National Championship Game s . His 2002 squad won a national title and achieved the first 14 – 0 season record in major college football since Penn went 15 – 0 in 1897 . Tressel finished his career at Ohio State with an official overall record of 94 – 22 ( ) , including six Big Ten Conference championships , a 5 – 4 bowl record , a 4 – 3 mark in BCS bowl games , and an 8 – 1 record against the arch - rival Michigan Wolverines . Tressel ' s eight wins against Michigan place him second in school history to Woody Hayes , who had 16 . He is the only Ohio State head coach to win seven consecutive games against the Wolverines . Tressel resigned as the Ohio State football coach in May 2011 amid an NCAA investigation of rules violations during the 2010 season ; which , in turn , led to Ohio State self - vacating the victories from its 2010 season ( including the 2011 Sugar Bowl ) . From September 2011 until February 2012 , Tressel was a consultant for the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL . Early life . Jim Tressel was born in 1952 at Mentor , Ohio , a suburb of Cleveland . His father , Lee Tressel , was the coach at Mentor ' s high school . After a 34 - game winning streak at Mentor , Tressel ' s father was hired as head football coach for Baldwin – Wallace College in Berea , Ohio . Baldwin – Wallace won the 1978 NCAA Division III National Championship under Tressel ' s father . Tressel attended many of his father ' s games and practices , and developed a friendship with neighbor ( and former Cleveland Browns player ) Lou Groza . Tressel ' s mother Eloise Tressel worked as the athletic historian at Baldwin – Wallace while his father was the head coach . After graduating from Berea High School in 1971 , Tressel played quarterback under his father at Baldwin – Wallace . As quarterback , he earned four varsity letters and won all - conference honors as a senior in 1974 . Tressel also joined the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity while attending Baldwin – Wallace . In 1975 , Tressel graduated from Baldwin – Wallace with a bachelor ' s degree in education . Family . Tressel and his wife Ellen , a Youngstown State graduate , are actively involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes , Athletes in Action , the OSU Thompson Libraries and the Ohio State University Medical Center , particularly the James Cancer Center . They have four children : Zak , Carlee , Eric , and Whitney and currently live in Upper Arlington . Coaching career . Early positions . After graduating from Baldwin Wallace , Tressel became a graduate assistant at the University of Akron . He coached the quarterbacks , receivers , and running back s , while earning a master ' s degree in education . In 1978 , he left to become quarterbacks and receivers coach at Miami University in Oxford , Ohio . By 1981 , he had left to become the quarterbacks coach at Syracuse . In 1983 , he was hired at Ohio State to be the quarterbacks and receivers coach . That year , OSU had a 9 – 3 record , including a 28 – 23 victory over Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl ; a 39 - yard pass from quarterback Mike Tomczak to wide receiver Thad Jemison clinched the win with 39 seconds remaining in the game . In 1984 , he was given the added responsibility of coaching the running backs . That year , the team became Big Ten champs , played in the Rose Bowl , and tailback Keith Byars finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting . In 1985 , OSU defeated BYU in the Citrus Bowl . Youngstown State University . At the end of the 1985 season , Jim Tressel left Ohio State to become head coach at Youngstown State University . In Tressel ' s first season as coach , Youngstown State finished with a 2 – 9 record . In his second season , Youngstown State finished the season with an 8 – 4 record and won the Ohio Valley Conference championship . From 1991 – 1994 , Youngstown State would play in the Division I - AA National Championship game four times . In 1991 , Tressel won his first national championship , defeating Marshall ; the victory made him and his father the only father - son duo to win national championships in college football . Youngstown State won two more national championships in the following three years : against Marshall in 1993 ( who had defeated them in 1992 ) and Boise State in 1994 . 1997 brought Tressel his fourth national championship with a 10 – 9 victory against McNeese State . He earned his 100th win against Indiana State . 1999 marked Tressel ' s ninth visit to the Division I - AA playoffs , but the team lost to a Paul Johnson coached Georgia Southern in the title game . 2000 presented Tressel with more success , leading Youngstown State to a 9 – 3 season and its 10th playoff appearance . During the 1990s , Youngstown State had a record of 103 – 27 – 2 , the most wins by any Division I - AA team and fourth most of both Division I - A and I - AA combined . Tressel ' s overall record at Youngstown was 135 – 57 – 2 . He was also named Division I - AA Coach of the Year in ’ 91 , ’ 93 , ’ 94 and ’ 97 . Tressel also held the position of athletic director from 1994 through 2001 , making him one of the few coaches since the 1980s to hold both positions of head coach and athletic director . In 1998 , Tressel ' s reputation was tarnished when it emerged that Ray Isaac , quarterback on his first national champion , admitted to accepting massive benefits from Mickey Monus , the founder of Phar - Mor and former chairman of the Youngstown State board of trustees . The NCAA had been tipped off about the violations in 1994 , but dropped its inquiry after a cursory internal investigation by Youngstown State . The nature of the violations only came to light when Isaac admitted to tampering with a juror in Monus ' first corporate fraud trial . It later emerged that Tressel had never met with Isaac during the initial 1994 investigation . Monus subsequently testified that when Isaac initially came to Youngstown State in 1988 , Tressel called Monus and asked him to work out a job for Isaac . Youngstown State subsequently admitted to a lack of institutional control and docked itself scholarships . The NCAA ultimately faulted Tressel and Youngstown State for their cursory 1994 investigation , but did not cite them for wrongdoing . Youngstown State was also allowed to keep its 1991 title since the NCAA ' s statute of limitations had run out . On July 9 , 2007 , Jim and Ellen Tressel , along with Frank and Norma Watson , donated $ 1 million to Youngstown State University for the building of an indoor athletics facility named the Watson and Tressel Training Site . The facility is scheduled to open by the end of the 2010 calendar year . This was the second major donation the Tressels and Watsons made to YSU . In 2003 , they donated a combined $ 250 , 000 to the campaign for the Andrews Student Recreation and Wellness Center , which opened in 2005 . Ohio State University . John Cooper was fired as Ohio State ' s head football coach following a loss to unranked South Carolina in the 2001 Outback Bowl , and Tressel was hired to replace Cooper . While addressing the Ohio State community during halftime of a basketball game just after being hired as head coach , Tressel declared , " I can assure you that you will be proud of your young people in the classroom , in the community , and most especially in 310 days in Ann Arbor , Michigan , on the football field . " Tressel coached the Buckeyes to two 19 - game winning streaks , one in the 2002 – 2003 season and the other in 2005 – 2006 . Tressel ' s winning percentage at Ohio State of 81 . 0 % is tied with John B . Eckstorm for the second best in school history , behind only Carroll Widdoes ' 16 – 2 ( 88 . 9 % ) mark in the 1944 – 1945 seasons . As Ohio State ' s head coach , Tressel is known for a conservative style of play calling ( dubbed " Tressel - ball " ) , winning games with just enough scoring , strong defense , and " playing field position . " Tressel often refers to the punt as the most important play in football . In most interviews , he credits the seniors on the team , foregoing praise for his younger players , in an attempt to promote those who have dedicated themselves to the Ohio State football program for a number of years . He is sometimes referred to as " The Senator " ( most notably by ESPN ' s Chris Fowler ) , because of his composure on the sidelines during play and his diplomatic way of interacting with representatives from the media . He is also referred to as " The Vest " for his penchant for wearing a sweater vest on the sidelines . Until his recent retirement , Tressel was one of only two active coaches with five or more national championships in any division ( only Larry Kehres of Division III Mount Union College has more with 10 ) . His four national championships at Youngstown State gave him the distinction of being a part of the only father – son coaching combination to win a national championship ( his father , Lee Tressel , won a Division III title at Baldwin – Wallace College in 1978 ) . He is the third Tressel to reach 100 wins , joining his father ( 155 wins ) and his older brother , Dick ( currently OSU running backs coach ) , who coached at Hamline University ( 124 wins ) . As a family , with Jim ' s 229 wins : Lee , Jim and Dick have won 508 games . During Tressel ' s first year ( 2001 ) , Ohio State had a 7 – 5 record . Ohio State returned to the Outback Bowl , where the Buckeyes once again fell to South Carolina . Although the Buckeyes lost on a last minute field goal , the team battled back to tie the game at 28 – 28 after being down 28 – 0 . Despite a second consecutive bowl loss and a 5 - loss season , Tressel had coached the Buckeyes to a 26 – 20 upset victory over Michigan , fulfilling the promise he had made 10 months earlier . The following year ( 2002 ) Tressel and the Buckeyes became the first team in college football history to finish 14 – 0 , defeating the heavily favored University of Miami Hurricanes in double overtime to win the 2003 Fiesta Bowl and the 2002 National Championship . It was Ohio State ' s first national championship in 34 years . That success made him the first coach in NCAA history to win the AFCA ' s Coach of the Year award while at different schools ; he is also the first to win the award in two different divisions . They were able to earn the national championship through close wins on a defensive - minded scheme that relied on field position . With a combination of senior leadership with Michael Doss and freshman Maurice Clarett , Tressel was able to pull out many close games during the season . Seven of their 14 victories were within 7 points including one overtime game against Illinois , and a double overtime game coming in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl . His playcalling style of tough defense , conservative ball - control offense , and field position was dubbed " Tresselball " by the media . Coming off the national title season , the Buckeyes earned an 11 – 2 record in 2003 , but the team lost to Michigan in the 100th meeting between the two teams 35 – 21 . The Buckeyes finished the 2003 season with a 35 – 28 victory over Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl on January 2 , 2004 . In 2004 , the team finished 8 – 4 , closing out the season with a 33 – 7 victory against Oklahoma State at the Alamo Bowl and upsetting Michigan in the annual rivalry game . Ohio State was unranked and Michigan was ranked 7th and the final score was 37 to 21 . During 2005 , the Buckeyes had a 10 – 2 record which featured an early season loss to eventual BCS National Champion Texas and another in Happy Valley versus Penn State , who finished the season ranked third in the BCS . However , the season ended with the Buckeyes defeating Notre Dame 34 – 20 in the Fiesta Bowl . The 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes football team went undefeated in the regular season — including a 42 – 39 victory over Michigan which saw the first ever meeting between the two teams ranking numbers 1 and 2 , respectively , in the national polls . Ohio State finished second in the final AP and Coaches polls after losing the 2007 BCS National Championship Game to the University of Florida , 41 – 14 . In the 2007 season Jim Tressel led the 11 – 1 Buckeyes to a third consecutive Big Ten Championship and second consecutive National Championship berth , played January 7 , 2008 against the LSU Tigers , in the Superdome . However OSU was beaten 38 – 24 by LSU , becoming only the second team to lose two consecutive BCS title games ( the first being the University of Oklahoma ) . In 2008 Ohio State won their fourth straight Big Ten title . The Buckeyes played Texas in the Fiesta Bowl , coming back from an 11 point second half deficit to take the lead with just over 2 minutes to play , only to lose when Texas scored with 16 seconds remaining . The 2009 team won its fifth straight conference title and earned a berth in the Rose Bowl against Oregon , winning the game 26 – 17 . The 2010 OSU football season finished with the team posting a 12 – 1 record . However , as a result of NCAA violations from Tressel knowingly using ineligible players , the 2010 season was vacated , leaving the team ' s official record for the campaign as 0 – 1 . The Tressel family continued the tradition of supporting the campus where Jim coached . As co - chairs on the contribution campaign , Coach Tressel and wife Ellen made a sizeable donation toward the renovation of Ohio State ' s $ 109 million William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library . The fourth - floor outdoor Tressel Terrace honors them for their contribution . Tressel also promised continuing donations to the library through royalties from his book , " The Winners Manual . " The Tressel family also teamed with Ohio State ' s Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute by establishing , promoting and donating to the Tressel Family Fund for Cancer Prevention Research . Both of Jim Tressel ' s parents died of cancer . Further , the Tressels donated a monument titled " Traditions , " erected in 2011 in a park near OSU ' s ROTC center . Remembrance park honors more than a thousand Ohio State alumni who , as military personnel , lost their lives in service to the United States . NCAA violations and resignation . On March 8 , 2011 , Ohio State suspended Tressel for the first two games of the 2011 season and fined him $ 250 , 000 for failing to notify the school of NCAA violations involving Ohio State football players . The players had a financial arrangement with Edward Rife , owner of a local tattoo parlor , who was at the time under investigation by the FBI for drug trafficking . The arrangement , which resulted in five Ohio State football players being suspended , involved trading championship rings , jerseys and other football - related awards for tattoos . That arrangement was a violation of NCAA rules , and would have rendered the players , including star quarterback Terrelle Pryor , ineligible to play for portions of the 2010 season . Tressel was first notified of the arrangement in April 2010 when he received several e - mails from Chris Cicero , a local attorney and former Ohio State walk - on football player . Tressel never forwarded the e - mails , or the information contained in them about potential violations , to his school ' s compliance office or the NCAA . Although Tressel had held the position of Athletic Director at Youngstown State , Tressel ' s excuse was that he did not know who to contact when he learned of the alleged violations . Tressel also later claimed not to have acted because of concerns about the confidentiality of the information , yet he immediately forwarded the first e - mail to Terrelle Pryor ' s mentor . On December 7 , 2010 , Ohio State was notified by the Department of Justice that it had in its possession many items of Ohio State sports memorabilia seized from Edward Rife ' s tattoo parlor . In the ensuing investigation Tressel was questioned by Ohio State on December 16 concerning his knowledge of the activities disclosed by the Justice Department ( the sale of rings , jerseys and football memorabilia to Rife ) . Tressel denied any specific knowledge of the violations , and claimed that he could not remember who had given him the vague information . A week later Tressel exchanged text messages with Cicero , the attorney who had originally notified him of the activities back in April . Tressel verified that the Justice Department matter involved the same players and issues as the April e - mails . Tressel remained silent , his long time knowledge of the violations ( and his subsequent intentional fielding of ineligible players throughout the season ) was only revealed when Ohio State inadvertently discovered the April 2010 Cicero e - mails in an unrelated search in January 2011 . On March 17 , 2011 , it was announced that Tressel requested Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith that he extend his own suspension to the same number of games as his players . Smith accepted the request , and , as a result , Tressel would have missed the first five games of the 2011 season . Ohio State President Gordon Gee assured the public that Tressel would not lose his job over the matter . On April 25 , 2011 , the NCAA accused Tressel of withholding information and lying to keep Buckeyes players on the field . In a " notice of allegations " sent to Ohio State , the NCAA charged that Tressel ' s actions were considered " potential major violations " which had " permitted football student - athletes to participate in intercollegiate athletics while ineligible . " The report also said he " failed to comport himself . . . ( with ) honesty and integrity " and that he lied when he filled out a compliance form in September stating that he had no knowledge of NCAA violations by any of his players . Tressel later stated that he lied about the violations because he didn ' t want to jeopardize the FBI ' s investigation against Rife and also feared for his players ' safety . And , while Terrelle Pryor ' s mentor was notified , Tressel never notified any parent that their child was consorting with dangerous drug dealers . Despite his stated safety concerns , Tressel only briefly spoke with two players , never inquired of the two if other players were involved and also in danger , nor in his discussions with players ever mentioned Mr . Rife , the tattoo parlor , or the selling of Ohio State merchandise . The NCAA ' s report explicitly refuted the credibility of this excuse . On May 30 , 2011 Tressel resigned as Ohio State ' s head football coach . Three days earlier , " Sports Illustrated " reported that it had found evidence that the memorabilia - for - tattoos scandal dated back to at least the 2002 national championship season , and as many as 28 players were involved . Early on the morning of Memorial Day , Gee and Smith called Tressel back from his vacation in Florida and asked for his resignation . " The Columbus Dispatch " reported that Gee had appointed a special committee to examine the scandal ' s impact on the school . It also reported that Ohio State had been looking to cut ties with Tressel for several weeks . Tressel said in a statement released by the university , " After meeting with university officials , we agreed that it is in the best interest of Ohio State that I resign as head football coach . The appreciation that Ellen and I have for the Buckeye Nation is immeasurable . " Luke Fickell , previously co - defensive coordinator and assistant head coach , served as interim head coach for the 2011 football season . Tressel left Ohio State as the third - winningest coach in school history , behind Woody Hayes and John Cooper . However , on July 8 , 2011 , Ohio State vacated all of its wins from the 2010 season and placed the football program on two years ' probation . On December 20 , 2011 the NCAA placed Ohio State on an additional one year ' s probation and banned it from postseason play in 2012 for numerous major violations under Tressel ' s watch . It also imposed a five - year show - cause penalty on Tressel , which means any NCAA member that wants to hire him would have to " show cause " for why it shouldn ' t be sanctioned for hiring him , and could face severe penalties if he commits any further violations during that time . The order stands until December 19 , 2016 ; given past precedent , it will likely have the effect of blackballing Tressel from the coaching ranks until the 2017 season . If Tressel ever coaches again during this period , he will be suspended for the first five games of the regular season , plus any conference championship game or bowl game . The NCAA came down particularly hard on Tressel because he ' d had four chances to tell the truth and failed to do so . Among other things , he claimed that he didn ' t come forward because he believed doing so would jeopardize a federal drug investigation involving Rife . Indianapolis Colts . On September 2 , 2011 , Tressel was hired by the Indianapolis Colts as a consultant . Tressel was suspended by the Colts until the 7th game of the season due to his involvement in the NCAA violations during his tenure as head coach at Ohio State . On January 26 , 2012 , it was reported by the Detroit Free Press that Tressel had two separate interviews with Colts ' owner Jim Irsay about the vacant head coaching position to replace Jim Caldwell , who was earlier fired . However , Tressel was ultimately passed over for Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano . Akron . On February 2 , 2012 , Tressel accepted a non - athletic - department position where he started his coaching career , the University of Akron . Tressel ' s new title is Vice President of Strategic Engagement . Coaching tree . Coached under : Former assistants who became NCAA Division I FBS or NFL head coaches :