Jim Tressel

Who is Jim Tressel?

James Patrick "Jim" Tressel is an educator and American football coach, most notably serving as head coach at Youngstown State University from 1986 to 2000 and at Ohio State University from 2001 to 2011.

While at Youngstown State University, Tressel led the team to win four NCAA Division I-AA Football Championships. He was hired by Ohio State University prior to the start of the 2001 season to replace John Cooper. During his tenure as Ohio State's 22nd head football coach, Tressel's teams competed in three BCS National Championship Games, and his 2002 squad won a national title, achieving the first 14–0 season record in major college football since UPenn went 15–0 in 1897.

However, Tressel resigned from OSU as head coach in May 2011 amid an NCAA investigation into rules violations during the prior 2010 season. The investigation resulted in OSU self-vacating victories from the 2010 season. 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, and he is the only Ohio State head coach to win seven consecutive games against the Wolverines.