Jim Tressel is on his way back to Youngstown State -- where he got his first head coaching gig -- to be the school’s president, the school announced Friday.
A day after being passed over for the same job at the University of Akron, Tressel was unanimously chosen by Youngstown State’s board of trustees to be the school’s next president.
“After fully examining each and every candidate and reviewing the input from hundreds of individuals across the campus and the community, the Board of Trustees believes Mr. Tressel is the right individual at the right time to lead Youngstown State University,” board Chair Sudershan Garg said, via the Columbus Dispatch. “Mr. Tressel has the personality and leadership skills, in addition to widespread community support, to dramatically raise YSU’s profile and prominence across Ohio and the nation.”
Tressel, a native of northwest Ohio, coached at Youngstown State from 1986-2000 before leaving for Ohio State. His tenure in Columbus came to an ignominious end over knowledge of a memorabilia-for-tattoos system that Sports Illustrated reported dated back to 2002, the year in which Ohio State won its last national championship.
Evidently, Youngstown State was willing to look past that whole mess and bring Tressel aboard. Prior to his gig with Youngstown State, Tressel worked as the vice president for strategic engagement at Akron and as a consultant for the Indianapolis Colts.