From sideline to Statehouse: Jim Tressel's journey to Ohio's lieutenant governor ...Middle East

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohioans received surprising news Monday when Gov. Mike DeWine named former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel his choice for lieutenant governor.

The 72-year-old will replace Sen. Jon Husted as DeWine's right-hand man and enter into a job vastly different from his head coaching positions at Ohio State and Youngstown State. Here is how Tressel went from playing quarterback for a small private northeast Ohio school to his new office.

Playing quarterback for his dad

Born in 1952, Tressel grew up in Mentor, roughly a 30-minute drive to downtown Cleveland. His father, Lee, was a football coach and eventually landed a college job at Baldwin Wallace, a private university in Berea that plays in NCAA Division III.

Jim followed his father there and became the quarterback of the Yellow Jackets. He earned all-conference honors in 1974 during his senior season and graduated the following year from the school with an education degree.

Lee Tressel coached Baldwin Wallace to a national title in 1978 while Jim was working his way up the college coaching ranks.

Builds football dynasty at Youngstown State

It took Tressel 11 years to land his first college head coaching job. He began in 1975 as a graduate assistant at Akron and also held assistant roles at Miami University, Syracuse and Ohio State.

His head coaching dreams became a reality at age 33 in 1986 when Youngstown State of the Football Championship Subdivision hired him. Tressel built a great dynasty, leading the Penguins to four national titles over seven years (1991, 1993, 1994 and 1997).

In his 15 seasons at Youngstown State from 1986 to 2000, Tressel went 135-57-2 and missed the playoffs in only five of those 15 seasons.

Continues winning ways at Ohio State

His impressive resume in Youngstown State earned him one of the most coveted jobs in sports: football coach at Ohio State.

The Buckeyes fired John Cooper in 2000 and immediately replaced him with Tressel. After a 7-5 season in 2001, the Buckeyes broke a more than 30-year title drought in 2002.

Tressel led Ohio State to a 14-0 record that season, ending with a national championship by defeating the University of Miami at the Fiesta Bowl in double overtime. The Buckeyes had continued success under Tressel with two more national championship game appearances, in 2006 and '07.

106 wins is what Tressel ended up with as the Buckeyes coach for 10 seasons, with eight seasons of at least 10 wins. He was also able to shift the tide of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry, going 9-1 against the Wolverines, with seven straight victories.

Resigns as Buckeyes coach amid controversy

In 2011, controversy surrounded the football program as NCAA investigations were underway regarding five players trading memorabilia, including jerseys and championships rings, for services such as tattoos and car rentals. Among the players connected in the scandal was quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

Tressel had said he was unaware of the violations before confirming in early March he knew of the exchanges, which violated NCAA rules.

He was suspended in March for the first two games of the season, but eventually, he resigned on May 30. A few days before he resigned, Sports Illustrated published a report saying that the exchanges for tattoos went as far back as 2002 and involved at least 28 players.

Shifts to college adminstration

After a short-lived stint in the NFL as the Indianapolis Colts replay consultant in 2011, Tressel shifted away from coaching and became a college administrator. A five-year "show cause" penalty had effectively made him ineligible for college coaching roles. In 2012, he became the University of Akron's vice president of strategic engagement before returning to Youngstown State as president in 2014.

Tressel spent nearly a decade back at Youngstown State before leaving in 2023. During his tenure, graduation rates increased and he secured a $10 million grant for street construction around the university and in the city.

His connection with the Buckeyes never stopped, as he was honored and carried off the field in 2022 at Ohio Stadium to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of his national championship team.

Ohio's new lieutenant governor

Tressel's appointment as Ohio's lieutenant governor can be traced to President Donald Trump. In July 2024, Trump selected Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his Republican running mate as he ran the second time for a second term.

After Trump's win, Vance resigned his Senate seat. Gov. Mike DeWine, also a Republican, selected his Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to replace Vance and then had to pick his replacement for a lieutenant governor.

If confirmed by the Ohio House and Senate, Tressel will serve through the end of Husted’s term in January 2027.

DeWine is ineligible for a third term as governor. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost will seek the Republican nomination, and he is expected to be joined by businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. DeWine's former health director, Amy Acton, has said she'll seek the Democratic nomination. Tressel did not initially indicate whether he might run.

Tressel has donated to political candidates in the past with one previous donation to former U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, who played receiver under him at Ohio State. He has also contributed to the campaigns of former Sen. Rob Portman and Gov. John Kasich.

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