Jim Tressel has been at the helm of Ohio State University Footbal since 2001. His distinguished coaching career includes Graduate Assistant, Akron, 1975; Quarterbacks, Receivers and Running Backs Coach, Akron, 1976-78; Quarterbacks and Receivers Coach, Miami (Ohio), 1979-80; Quarterbacks Coach, Syracuse, 1981-82; Quarterbacks, Receivers and Running Backs Coach, Ohio State, 1983-85; Head Coach, Youngstown State, 1986-2000; Head Coach, Ohio State, 2001-present. His honors include: 2002 Division I National Championship; Four Division I-AA National Championships; Chevrolet National Coach of the Year in 1993, 1994 and 1997; American Football Coaches Association National Coach of the Year in 1991, 1994 and 2002; Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year in 1994 and 2002; AFCA Regional Coach of the Year in 1987 and 1993; six-time Ohio Coach of the Year.
He likes coffee, mowing the lawn, a good cheeseburger and likes his music a little bit country. He enjoys working with the people around him, and he wants more than anything to help his players become the sort of people others will enjoy being around. He knows there are powerful forces influencing a young man as he sets out on his life’s course. Tressel believes one of the best influences is football.
A 1971 Berea High graduate, Tressel played for his father at Baldwin Wallace, earning four letters at quarterback and winning all-conference honors as a senior in 1974. He graduated cum laude in 1975 with a degree in education.
The charitable efforts of the Tressel family are equally productive. Jim and his wife Ellen (a Youngstown State graduate) are actively involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Athletes in Action, the OSU Thompson Libraries and The Ohio State University Medical Center, particularly the James Cancer Center. They are the parents of four accomplished young adults: Zak, Carlee, Eric and Whitney. The Tressels live in Upper Arlington.
