For years, Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel's nickname was The Senator, coined by ESPN's Chris Fowler for the coach's conservative approach to his dress, his public appearances, and to fourth downs.
Turns out, Fowler was just a little bit off the mark. The Senator is now the Lieutenant Governor.
Tressel was appointed to the second-highest ranking position in the Ohio state government on Monday by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. The appointment was a result of November's presidential election: JD Vance vacated his post to become Vice President, and DeWine appointed Ohio's sitting lieutenant governor, Jon Husted, to replace Vance in the Senate. Tressel now replaces Husted in the Ohio Statehouse.
Tressel's new office is just five miles south from his former office in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, and represents a full-circle moment considering his shocking departure from Columbus.
Tressel, the ultimate statesman as a coach, resigned in disgrace in 2011 after the NCAA found he withheld information during the "Tattoogate" scandal following the 2010 season. (It certainly helps that Tattoogate would be anything but a scandal in 2025.) Tressel spent 2011 in a non-coaching role with the Indianapolis Colts, and then said goodbye to football the following year. He took a vice president position at the University of Akron in 2012, then spent nearly a decade as Youngstown State University's president.
There, Tressel was credited with raising YSU's graduation rate by nearly 15 percentage points, spearheading numerous improvements to the school's campus, and raising more than $150 million during his tenure.
Tressel began his coaching career as a GA at Akron in 1975, and landed his first head coaching position at Youngstown State in 1986.
In 25 seasons at Youngstown State and Ohio State, Tressel went 229-79-2 with five national championships, nine title game appearances, and eight conference titles (YSU spent much of Tressel's tenure as an FCS independent).
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