ESPN REPORT: The Ohio State Buckeyes football head coach is been fired due to…..
Columbus, Ohio Jim Tressel resigned on Monday after NCAA infractions stemming from a tattoo shop scandal that damaged the reputation of one of the nation’s best football programs. Tressel led Ohio State to its first national championship in thirty-four years.
In a statement issued by the university, Tressel said, “We decided that it is in Ohio State’s best interest that I resign as head football coach after meeting with university officials.” “The appreciation that [wife] Ellen and I have for the Buckeye Nation is immeasurable.”
The 2011 season will be coached by Luke Fickell. He was already chosen to lead the team in an acting capacity while Tressel was serving a five-game ban.
Jim Lynch, an Ohio State spokesperson, stated he was not aware of any severance or buyout offer. He also mentioned that Tressel had spoken with athletic director Gene Smith after his return from vacation on Sunday night, and that Smith had then met with staff. According to him, Tressel typed and sent in his resignation to Smith.
Tressel’s contract with Ohio State, which was valued approximately $3.5 million year until the 2014 season, did not obligate Ohio State to give him any money or benefits in the event of his resignation.
The Columbus Dispatch was the first to report on the resignation.
The unrest had obviously been intensifying. The news conference announcing Ohio State’s two-game suspension (which was later extended to five games in accordance with the players’ punishment) and $250,000 fine against Tressel for his knowledge of his players’ improper benefits from a local tattoo parlor owner coincided with the resignation, which took place almost three months ago. At the time, the school expressed its dismay and amazement at Tressel’s actions. The school was still able to make jokes, though.
“No, are you kidding?” Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee responded when asked if he had thought about firing Tressel. To be perfectly clear, all I’m hoping for is that the coach doesn’t write me off.”
Regarding the Tressel incident over the weekend, Gee was serious. Ohio State made public a letter that Gee wrote to the board of trustees of the university: “As you are all aware, I formed a special committee to examine and advise me on matters related to our football program. I have been actively investigating the situation and have accepted coach Tressel’s resignation after consulting with the senior leadership of the board and the university.”
The public and media pressure on Ohio State, its board of trustees, Gee, and Smith culminated in Tressel’s downfall.
“I wanted to let you know that Jim and I had a lengthy conversation on the status of our program last night when he got back from his vacation. In a video that was made public on Monday, Smith stated, “That’s when he decided to resign.” “He handed in his official letter of resignation this morning when we got together again in his office and continued our conversation. A portion of the team did attend our meeting this morning, and the position coaches got in touch with the players who weren’t present. Coach Tressel took the action that we were all expecting. He did a masterful job of elucidating to the young guys the true meaning of transition and the priorities they should set.”
Fickell agreed to serve as interim coach after Smith asked him to in a pre-meeting meeting. Smith also had a meeting with the entire support and coaching team.
“We are being looked into by the NCAA. We won’t talk about anything related to that case or any potential new allegations,” Smith declared. We’ll reply to them as usual, work with the NCAA, and make every effort to ascertain the truth. Coach Tressel has dedicated a long career to our university, and for that I am grateful. He had a really beneficial impact on a large number of people. We owe a debt of gratitude to him for his guidance throughout the years we enjoyed tremendous success in the classroom more than on the field.
To respond to inquiries regarding the player infractions and the reasons Tressel failed to report them, Tressel and Ohio State were scheduled to appear before the NCAA’s infractions committee on August 12. Until investigators approached him with emails revealing he had known about illicit benefits to players from April 2010, he denied knowing about them.
Tressel’s issues grew worse as he and his players committed multiple NCAA infractions over the years. It was discovered that six Ohio State players, including standout quarterback Terrelle Pryor, had accepted money or reduced tattoos. All were suspended starting with the first game of the 2011 season, but the NCAA allowed them to participate in the Buckeyes’ 31-26 victory against Arkansas in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
Following the team’s return from New Orleans, Ohio State representatives started working on an appeal of the players’ punishments. At that point, investigators discovered that Tressel had been informed in April 2010 of the players’ connections to Edward Rife, the proprietor of the parlor under federal investigation.
Tressel had received letters from a local lawyer, Christopher Cicero, a former walk-on at Ohio State, outlining the unlawful advantages. Cicero and Tressel exchanged a dozen emails about it.
In September 2010, Tressel acknowledged in an NCAA compliance form that he was unaware of any athletic misconduct. In addition to NCAA regulations, his contract required him to report any suspected infractions of the rules to his supervisors or the compliance department.
However, he kept this a secret from everyone else save Ted Sarniak, who was purportedly Pryor’s “mentor” in Jeannette, Pennsylvania.
Additionally on Monday, The Columbus Dispatch revealed that Ohio State and the NCAA are looking into Pryor’s possible receipt of cars and other illicit incentives as the subject of a “significant” investigation.
Later on Monday, Sports Illustrated revealed that as early as 2002, during Tressel’s second season at Ohio State, at least 28 players—22 more than the university has admitted—were involved in trading memorabilia for services.
According to SI, there was involvement at the Dudley’z or Fine Line Ink tattoo parlors by nine current players (defense end Nathan Williams, defensive tackle John Simon, defensive end C.J. Barnett, linebacker Dorian Bell, running back Jaamal Berry, running back Bo DeLande, defensive back Zach Domicone, linebacker Storm Klein, linebacker Etienne Sabino, defensive tackle John Simon, and defensive end Nathan Williams) as well as nine additional people beyond Pryor and the others already banned. SI was informed by a tattoo artist that the trade of memorabilia for tattoos began around 2002.
Smith, the athletic director, released a comment following the publication of the piece.
“During the course of an investigation, the university and the NCAA work jointly to review any new allegations that come to light, and will continue to do so until the conclusion of the investigation,” he stated. “You can be confident that this is how these fresh accusations will be assessed. We won’t be able to speak further after that.
At Ohio State, Tressel, who is 58 years old, has a 106-22-0 record. During his ten years, he guided the Buckeyes to eight Bowl Championship Series appearances. Tressel’s overall record was 241-79-2 when combined with a 135-57-2 record in 15 years at Youngstown State, when he won four Division I-AA national championships.
Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said in a statement, “Coach Jim Tressel has made positive contributions to Ohio State and its student athletes during his tenure.” “He has also acknowledged making a serious mistake and his resignation today is an indication that serious mistakes have serious consequences.”
Urban Meyer, a college football analyst for ESPN and a former Florida coach, denied any interest in the position despite rumors that he would be a suitable successor.
Meyer released a statement saying, “I am committed to ESPN and will not pursue any coaching opportunities this fall.” “I’ve had a great time working with the ESPN team this spring, and I’m still really thrilled about my position with the network come autumn.
“Jim Tressel has always been regarded as a reliable friend and coworker. I’m sending my best wishes for the future to Jim and his family.
Bo Pelini, the coach of Nebraska, whose Huskers are playing in the Big Ten this season instead of the Big 12, praised Tressel.
Pelini released a statement saying, “Jim Tressel is an outstanding football coach and a good man.” “Since his time at Youngstown State and during his amazing run of success at Ohio State over the last ten years, I have followed and respected his career. In college football, he will be missed.”
Despite writing two books on honesty and faith, Tressel is still seen by some as a hypocrite and a scapegoat. Despite his large support base, during the course of the ongoing NCAA probe, a growing number of critics have come forward. Concerns arose regarding his players’ and their friends’ and relatives’ access to exclusive pre-owned automobile sales from two Columbus-based dealers.
However, there once was a period when he was seen as a sincere, devout man who never did or said anything without first giving it careful thought. He was known as “The Senator” because he was always well-groomed, gave props to his opponents, and rarely provided a concise response to even the most straightforward inquiries.
Even before arriving at Ohio State, he had run afoul of the NCAA. When Youngstown State was placed under recruitment and scholarship restrictions due to infractions involving star quarterback Ray Isaac, he was the head coach there.
Nevertheless, when John Cooper was let go in January 2001, Tressel was preferred for the position by Ohio State’s then-athletic director Andy Geiger over Minnesota coach and former linebacker Glen Mason.
Cooper’s dismissal was purportedly caused by the program’s lack of focus and other off-field issues. More detrimental, though, might have been his 2-10-1 record versus Michigan’s archrival and his 3-8 record in bowl games.
When Tressel made his debut in 2001 during an Ohio State basketball game, he promised that supporters would “be proud of our young people, in the classroom, in the community, and most especially in 310 days in Ann Arbor, Mich., on the football field.”
Tressel’s first squad finished 7-5, missed the Outback Bowl, but defeated Michigan, ranked 11th, 26-20. But the Buckeyes won every game in his second season, driven by rookie tailback Maurice Clarett.
They won seven games by a margin of seven points or less, going 14-0. They played No. 1 Miami for the BCS national championship in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Clarett bulled over the middle for a touchdown in the second overtime, and the Buckeyes held on to win their first national championship since 1968. Tressel raised the crystal football after the game.
The next summer, Clarett said that he had lost thousands of dollars in a break-in to a used car he had rented from a local dealer
