Jim Tressel named next president of Youngstown State University
Former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel has officially been chosen to be the next president of Youngstown State University. The Board of Trustees at YSU unanimously voted for Tressel, the current executive vice president for student success at the University of Akron, Friday morning.
Tressel, who was the head coach at Youngstown from 1986-2000, would be the ninth president in school history and would succeed Randy J. Dunn, who resigned in March to take the same position at Southern Illinois University.
Excited about the opportunity at YSU! It’s all about student success. Going to miss all the wonderful Zips at UA.
— Jim Tressel (@JimTressel5) May 9, 2014
According to a release from Youngstown, Tressel and two other finalists visited campus this week and the board met in a closed session to mull a decision. The agreement with Tressel is not final until contract terms are reached.
“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,” said board chair Sudershan Garg. “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, who said earlier in the week that he does not plan to return to coaching, is a native of northeast Ohio and is a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace University, where he played quarterback. After stints as an assistant coach at Akron, Miami (OH), Syracuse and Ohio State, Tressel led YSU to four I-AA national championships in the 90’s. He then was hired by Ohio State in 2001 and led the Buckeyes to a national championship in 2002 and Big Ten titles from 2005-2009.
His run in Columbus ended in 2011 when he resigned amid NCAA violations from the infamous tattoos-for-memorabilia scandal that Sports Illustrated reported had dated all the way back to 2002.
After a brief stint as a consultant with the Indianapolis Colts, Tressel was hired as vice president for strategic engagement at Akron in 2012 and was then promoted to executive vice president for student success in 2013.
Tressel was also a finalist for the presidency at Akron and Football Scoop is reporting that Tressel was offered the position at Akron, but he opted to return to Youngstown.
Per source, Tressel chose the YSU job…was offered the same position at Akron. http://t.co/sNnVtyuXRd
— FootballScoop Staff (@footballscoop) May 9, 2014
Akron announced its hire of Scott Scarborough, the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Toledo, on Thursday.
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