This really is a shame.  Tressel has always acted with class - both on and off the field.  But this is very serious - as you could tell from Ohio State's reaction and yesterday's press conference. 

 

The individual players underlaying violations were relatively minor in a societal sense.  But they were still NCAA rules - and they got penalized for it back in December.  However, this latest revelation takes it to a higher level.  Young college players screw-up all the time, in probably every college across the country.  But an older head coach has a higher level of responsibility when he screws-up. 

 

This latest revelation also pushes OSU's institutional exposure from December 2010 back to April 2010, the date of the e-mail.  Ohio State is treating this with the seriousness it deserves.  The university's pre-emptive strike of a two game suspension and $250,000 fine is an effort to stave off any additional penalties from the NCAA.  Maybe it will be enough to do so.  Maybe it won't be.

Maybe he's just living up to his nickname of "The Senator?"

Maybe he's just living up to his nickname of "The Senator?"

 

Ouch!  Now that's a good one!

Im sure everyone knew before the bowl game.

 

Everyone did.  It was made public and punishments were announced before that game.

He LIED! Bring on the Death Penalty. Vacate the Season. As usual the cover-up is worst than the original offense. And ironically enough this offense is more interesting than a typical OSU offensive of possession. They're be all alright, especially with an annual schedule full of Little Old Ladies of Poor . . .then there's the out of conference schedule.

 

Ok, I'm done now. ;-)

I'm an Ohio State fan, but I think the program should get punished just as much as USC did.  If the coach is straight up lying, that clearly demonstrates a 'lack of institutional control" which is what got USC in all the trouble.  2 seasons of no post season play, and a reduction in scholarships.  The NCAA has to be fair.

Am I missing something?  Did Tressel actually lie to investigators?  From everything I have read so far he withheld information he had for months which he should have reported to officials at OSU.  This is a serious offense pursuant to the terms of his contract with the university and NCAA rules and guidelines. 

^ Of course, he had a bowl game to play. This is what they say. Win at all costs. Honestly it sound like fraud. Did Ohio State deserve the money from the bowl knowing they had players in the wrong doing??

Am I missing something?  Did Tressel actually lie to investigators?  From everything I have read so far he withheld information he had for months which he should have reported to officials at OSU.  This is a serious offense pursuant to the terms of his contract with the university and NCAA rules and guidelines. 

You and I aren't the only ones confused after the press conference.  Below is link to a Dispatch article that is much more helpful in laying out the timeline of events.  It also helps clarify who did what, when it happened, who emailed whom, who got notified etc. etc.

 

Tressel timeline is lengthy - Damaging e-mail exchanges date to April 2010; coach didn't report them until January 2011

 

---

^ Of course, he had a bowl game to play. This is what they say. Win at all costs. Honestly it sound like fraud. Did Ohio State deserve the money from the bowl knowing they had players in the wrong doing??

Man, you've got to stop with this bowl bowl bowl in your posts.  Whether the Tattoo Five played in the Sugar Bowl had no effect on the amount of money Ohio State would receive.  And the Sugar Bowl money doesn't go to Ohio State anyway.  It goes to the Big Ten.  The money that a Big Ten team gets for a bowl appearance goes directly to the Big Ten conference.  From there it gets divided equally to the 11 schools in the conference.

Not allowing teams to participate in bowl games in future years is the dumbest penalty ever. Pentalize kids who work hard all season who had nothing to do with anything that happened.

Rider is correct.....Haters gonna hate.

He didn't lie.  He just didn't come forward when he knew.  The issue is a failure to report.  Tressell and OSU the institution took no part in the actual violation.  He deserves a punishment, but this is nowhere near as ingregiuous as plenty of previous violators of NCAA rules.  I highly, highly doubt that any NCAA coach would have handled the situation much differently.  They have to turn the blind eye to a lot of things these days.  But that is exactly why the NCAA is likely to make an example of Tress.

 

And, folks, please stop with all this bowl game nonsense.  The entire charade played out prior to the bowl game.  The NCAA let the kids play in the game despite what they did.

 

 

^ Signing NCAA compliance forms over the summer knowing there may have been violations sounds like lying to me.

You have a point there.... although that could still be classified as a failure to disclose.  Out of the 100+ of those forms that are submitted each year by the various Div 1 programs, how many do you suppose are wholly accurate?

Ohio State football: Tressel decides to sit for five games, too

After NCAA affirms five players' penalty, coach takes action

Friday, March 18, 2011 - 03:06 AM

By Tim May, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Whether it was bowing to national criticism or simply a change of heart, Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel said last night that he wants to share in the five-game suspension that five of his players are now facing for sure.

 

Ohio State announced that it was granting Tressel's request to have his two-game suspension extended for the start of next season.  The announcement came moments after the NCAA denied an appeal and let stand the five-game suspensions it had levied in December on quarterback Terrelle Pryor, running back Daniel Herron, receiver DeVier Posey, left tackle Mike Adams and defensive end Solomon Thomas.

. . .

 

"Throughout this entire situation, my players and I have committed ourselves to facing our mistakes and growing from them; we can only successfully do that together," Tressel said in a statement released by OSU. "I spoke with athletics director (Gene) Smith and our student-athletes involved, and told them that my mistakes need to share the same game sanctions."

 

"Like my players, I am very sorry for the mistakes I made.  I request of the university that my sanctions now include five games so that the players and I can handle this adversity together."

 

READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2011/03/18/tressel-decides-to-sit-for-5-games-too.html?sid=101

Has it been mentioned who is going to be the head coach for the first five games? I'm assuming that it's either going to be Jim Heacock or Luke Fickell, since Darrell Hazell is now on some other teams coaching staff, right?

According to a recent article in the Dispatch, Luke Fickell might be the guy.

 

From How will OSU cope without Tressel?:

"Which leads back to the void - who will fill it?  Conjecture is that co-defensive coordinator Luke Fickell might get the nod because insiders think that he will be named assistant head coach in the spring to replace the departed Darrell Hazell.  Defensive coordinator Jim Heacock and running backs coach Dick Tressel, older brother of the coach, are the only former head coaches on the staff."

NCAA alleges Tressel lied to hide NCAA violations

 

11:20 AM, Apr. 25, 2011|

 

COLUMBUS (AP) — The NCAA is accusing

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel of lying to hide

violations by players who traded

memorabilia for cash and tattoos.

 

In a “notice of allegations” sent to the

school, the NCAA said Monday that the

alleged violations relating to the coach are

considered “potential major violations.”

 

The NCAA says Tressel “falsely attested”

that he reported all knowledge of NCAA

violations to the school.

 

Read more at: http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20110425/SPORTS/110425010/NCAA-alleges-Tressel-lied-hide-NCAA-violations?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage

^I can't imagine that Tressel or OSU is going to contest that finding.... besides perhaps the verbiage.  But he clearly signed the form saying that he had reported all known violations.  That was a misrepresentation, given the broad language on that form..... a misrepresentation I would feel very comfortable saying that 99.9% of college coaches make every single year.

 

Did anybody watch the Spring game?  I liked this format (1's vs. 1's) better than the traditional two team format.  Here are my thoughts:

 

- I don't want to hear any more comparisons between B Miller and T Pryor.  He is much, much more like Troy Smith.

 

- This freshman RB Rod Smith seems VERY intriguing.  Cut out of stone for a RB.

 

- The DL is going to give opposing backfields nightmares all season.  Simon was in the backfield on nearly every play.  Williams was constantly chasing the QB around.  Hankins has got into better shape.  And there were several younger guys who stepped up.

 

- Etienne Sabino seems to have finally arrived and should win one of the LB spots.

 

- TY Williams (WR from East Cleveland) is a beast.  I hope he pulls it all together.  Not many people have that kind of speed at 6'6 and well north of 200lbs.

 

- Why does J. Berry not get the love from Tressel?  Everytime that guy plays, he produces.  Yet, he seems to be stuck at the end of the bench each year.  I like him better than Jordan Hall, albeit he does not have Hall's versatility to split out wide.

URBAN Meyer

OHIO State

 

;)

^Sadly, I foresee the same end result.  Nothing against Meyer.  Nothing at all.  But Tressel IS Ohio State Football.

^Sadly, I foresee the same end result.  Nothing against Meyer.  Nothing at all.  But Tressel IS Ohio State Football.

 

I greatly disliked Meyer as coach of Florida (well, mostly because I loathed Florida).  But I agree with you, Tressel is Ohio State football and it's really sad that all of this may very well be his undoing because quite frankly he wouldn't be in this mess if those players weren't so stupid in their actions.

He took the easy way out.

accountability is a dangerous intersection.

The Ohio State University announced today that it has accepted the resignation of Jim Tressel as head coach of its football program.  Luke Fickell will serve as interim head coach for the 2011-2012 football season.

 

More from The Dispatch:

 

Sources: Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel was encouraged to resign

 

Text of Ohio State statement on Tressel resignation

wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy past due.

He took the easy way out.

 

:wtf:

 

Sad but necessary.  And a few months too late.

No matter what the truth is, it's such a shame.

I've been calling for his head since the Justin Zwick/Troy Smith quarterback shuffle vs. Texas in 2004, so I'm glad he's gone.  He always coached out of character vs. out of conference competition, hurting the team.  Hit the road, Tressel!!

Too bad. It seems to me that being an NCAA coach at a big program is a lot like dealing with IRS/state and taxes. You know that you probably aren't 100% compliant ( anybody here claim Ohio use tax on Internet purchases that you didn't pay sales tax on?) but you try to do your best and hope that you don't get audited. He made a gamble that these incidents were minor and the situation blew up in their face.

 

Well at least now I can go back to hating OSU football like I was raised to. I grew up around Youngstown during Tressels great run at YSU, so I had to root for him when he took over the program.

I just read the Sports Illustrated article that was alleged to contain the bombshell which forced Tressel's resignation.  More allegations of trading memorabilia for tattoos & cash.  I don't see a big deal with that.  I think as long as a star player's autograph is worth $100 or more, how can you enforce a ban on that, when plenty of folks are willing to pay that $100 to them?

 

Tressel knew about it and lied, because he wanted to win, not because he wanted to protect the players or whatever.  I'm probably rationalizing it, but I refuse to believe this same scam isn't going on at the campus of every other top 10 program in the country...

I've been calling for his head since the Justin Zwick/Troy Smith quarterback shuffle vs. Texas in 2004, so I'm glad he's gone.  He always coached out of character vs. out of conference competition, hurting the team.  Hit the road, Tressel!!

 

Been calling for his head since 2004?  You know he's won 6 straight Big 10 titles since then, been to 2 National championships and won several BCS bowl games? 

I just read the Sports Illustrated article that was alleged to contain the bombshell which forced Tressel's resignation.  More allegations of trading memorabilia for tattoos & cash.  I don't see a big deal with that.  I think as long as a star player's autograph is worth $100 or more, how can you enforce a ban on that, when plenty of folks are willing to pay that $100 to them?

 

Slippery slope, my friend.  What happens when a booster wants to pay the kid $150 for his autograph?  How about $500?  $1,000?  $10,000?

 

I agree that it is not THAT bad.  It is not like the kids were given the tatoos as an enticement to commit or forego entering the draft.  This was not an institutional thing.  It was a booster thing.  But a rule violation nonetheless.

 

Tressel knew about it and lied, because he wanted to win, not because he wanted to protect the players or whatever.  I'm probably rationalizing it, but I refuse to believe this same scam isn't going on at the campus of every other top 10 program in the country...

 

There is easily $100,000 worth of body art on the college football field at any given game.  It might not be the "same scam", but these kids aren't paying for all those tatoos.

 

I would also say that what Tressel is ultimately guilty of (not reporting potential violations to the NCAA) goes on at every college campus, not just the top 10 programs. 

 

Here's a scenario.  I know a 'guy' who played at a school much smaller than OSU.  His freshman year, he and a few of his buddies were arrested for fighting and some other 'trumped up' charges.  The OIC at the jail decides that their football coach, the OIC's coach in HS ironically, will punish them way worse than a judge ever will, so he calls him at 2am to come and pick the kids up.... never filing the charges.  The coach has one of his assistants wake the kids up at 6am and makes the kids run until they puke.  NCAA rule violation?  Absolutely.  Did the coach report it?  Absolutely not.  It happens EVERYWHERE.  The NCAA has a serious problem and it knows it.

I've been calling for his head since the Justin Zwick/Troy Smith quarterback shuffle vs. Texas in 2004, so I'm glad he's gone.  He always coached out of character vs. out of conference competition, hurting the team.  Hit the road, Tressel!!

 

Been calling for his head since 2004?  You know he's won 6 straight Big 10 titles since then, been to 2 National championships and won several BCS bowl games? 

 

Absolutely.  Beating Michigan is a requirement he fulfilled, however he was blown away in consecutive title games and missed an opportunity for another with the 2005 Texas loss.  By the end of 2005, the Bucks looked like the best team in the nation and absolutely drummed the Fighting Irish.  Losing back-to-back title games in similar fashion showed a lack of ingenuity and preparedness.  He couldn't beat SC.  Since that win over Notre Dame in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl, Tressel is 2-3 in BCS bowls.  The two losses?  National Championship games.  At Ohio State, it's about winning it all.  Beating Michigan doesn't mean as much if you don't immortalize the Wolverines' loss with a Championship season.

^Tell that to John Cooper....

The losses to Florida & LSU & USC have to come with a big asterisk because those teams were all the best in the nation by a long shot.  Florida would have blown out any other team in 2004 Championship, they were so much better than everyone.  The game against LSU was much closer.  I'm as big a Buckeye fan as you'll find, and I don't think there's much any coach could have done to win those two games.

I disagree.  Florida was just clicking that day.... better than they had all season, and Ginn Jr. getting hurt destroyed our offensive gameplan and capabilities.  If we play that game back 10 times, I would bet that OSU team (if healthy) wins more than 5.  LSU, in 2007, was clearly the better team.  They wore us down up front as the game progressed.  We really had no business being in the NC game that year.  It was by sheer luck we made it, but we weren't one of the top two teams.  The first year we played USC, they were surely the better team.  That might have been the best college team, from a talent standpoint, in the past decade.  But we should have won that second matchup.

As long as we're talking about tattoos, let's all watch closely this fall and look at the star players for all the other teams (USC, Florida, Oregon, Texas, Wisconsin, LSU, etc) that have 18" forearms, 24" biceps, covered in ink....  how much do you all think they paid for that work?  Fair market would be at least a thousand to cover that much skin.  How many of these athletes, coming from poor families, can afford such a luxury as thousands in tattoos?  I'd like to see SI.com do a followup on other schools

Here's a scenario.  I know a 'guy' who played at a school much smaller than OSU.  His freshman year, he and a few of his buddies were arrested for fighting and some other 'trumped up' charges.  The OIC at the jail decides that their football coach, the OIC's coach in HS ironically, will punish them way worse than a judge ever will, so he calls him at 2am to come and pick the kids up.... never filing the charges.  The coach has one of his assistants wake the kids up at 6am and makes the kids run until they puke.  NCAA rule violation?  Absolutely.  Did the coach report it?  Absolutely not.  It happens EVERYWHERE.  The NCAA has a serious problem and it knows it.

 

Excellent point.  The difference is that at OSU, it's almost impossible to keep a secret on that campus because everyone is always watching.  Someone who was at the scene of the fight would report it and follow up to see if the arresting officer pressed charges, follow up to see who picked up the players from jail, etc.

One more thing about the SI.com article, there are some very "open ended" quotes which leave the reader to make up their own mind on the facts, particularly about players who got "paid" by wealthy boosters.  The quote about the one player was that he received over $10,000 in a period of four years.  Let's say it was merely a "show up" job or he was asked to answer the phone at an office somewhere...  that's only $2500 a year.  At $15/hr (decent wage for college intern)  that amounts to a few hours per week.  No real smoking gun in the logic, but left open ended as the SI author chose to, it sounds much more juicy than it probably was in reality.

One more thing about the SI.com article, there are some very "open ended" quotes which leave the reader to make up their own mind on the facts, particularly about players who got "paid" by wealthy boosters.  The quote about the one player was that he received over $10,000 in a period of four years.  Let's say it was merely a "show up" job or he was asked to answer the phone at an office somewhere...  that's only $2500 a year.  At $15/hr (decent wage for college intern)  that amounts to a few hours per week.  No real smoking gun in the logic, but left open ended as the SI author chose to, it sounds much more juicy than it probably was in reality.

 

I agree. The SI article wasn't a bombshell like I was expecting.  It looks a lot worse than it really was.  Regardless Tress lied and you can not lie to the NCAA.  There's dirt on every major program if you look hard enough. 

Ahh, the 'ole "everyone else is doing it" excuse. O$U got caught.

 

He took the easy way out.

 

The Vest should have taken the high road, admitted the guilt immediately, accepted the responsibility and punishment.  Practice what he preached, so to speak...

 

Mr Sparkle how many years of college football did you play?  How many coaches do you know? how many of your friends played Div 1?  I played football at a major program from 98 -02 and still have connections to the program and many others.  IT HAPPENS EVERYWHERE  (I'm not saying it's right btw). 

it is an interesting thought to wonder what the current situation would be if Tressel had blown the whistle on Pryor & the other tattoo gang right when it came to his knowledge....  might've blown their chances at winning a Big 10 title or a bowl game, but he'd still have a job and have a better shot at keeping his own legacy and that of the program in tact.

Mr Sparkle how many years of college football did you play?  How many coaches do you know? how many of your friends played Div 1?  I played football at a major program from 98 -02 and still have connections to the program and many others.  IT HAPPENS EVERYWHERE  (I'm not saying it's right btw). 

 

How many of those coaches placed themselves on the pinnacle that Tressel did?

^I disagree - that's a matter of perception to say he put himself on a pinnacle.  Yes he wrote books on "being the best you can be" and that, but he was different in many ways from other coaches, and not just because he rocked the sweater vest.  Go to the Columbus Dispatch today and read how many former players and assistant coaches have come out in support of him and said how he was a real inspiration to help them become better people...  I think that has more to do with him being put on a pedestal than any books he might've written

Jim Tressel is a great man.  Its easy for those in who never liked him simply because he coached the Buckeyes to pile on now. 

They all place themselves on a pinnacle......how do you think they got into those positions in the first place?  OSU athletes suffer from not having another major professional sport in such a big city.  They're treated like pros.  (once again not an excuse just saying).  I know Tress personally.  He always tries to do right by his players but he did take a gamble and paid the price.  Sometimes the pressure to win gets the best of a coach.  He's still a great person and has helped changed a lot of lives along the way. 

^Tell that to John Cooper....

 

Hehe, trust me, I'm not defending Cooper in any way.  Isn't he still a part-time scout for the Bengals?