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Former Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel named Lieutenant Governor of Ohio

Spencer-Holbrookby:Spencer Holbrook•02/10/25•

SpencerHolbrook

National Championship - Oregon v Ohio State
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

COLUMBUS — Legendary former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel has a new title: Lieutenant Governor.

The famed Buckeyes head coach who won the 2002 national title has landed a position in the government for the state of Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday morning.

Jim Tressel will take over the Lieutenant Governor title for Jon Husted, who became a Senator for the state of Ohio in the U.S. Senate chamber when former Ohio Senator J.D. Vance became the vice president of the country in January after winning the presidential election alongside President Donald J. Trump.

That domino effect now falls to Tressel, who will become the 67th Lieutenant Governor of the state. Some notable former Lieutenant Governors include DeWine, numerous others who ended up becoming governor of Ohio, as well as Warren G. Harding (1904-1906), who eventually was elected as the 29th President of the United States.

Tressel left coaching in 2011 when he was fired from Ohio State as part of the ‘tatgate’ scandal. He became the Vice President of Strategic Engagement for the University of Akron in Feb. 2012 until he was hired as the President of Youngstown State University on April 13, 2014.

During his storied career, Jim Tressel went 229-79-2 with Youngstown State and Ohio State. He won three Division 1-AA championships with the Penguins.

Of course, he won the BCS National Championship in 2002 with an overtime win over undefeated and No. 1 Miami (FL) for the Ohio State program’s first national title in 32 years. Tressel and also won the Big Ten five additional times in his career and coached the Buckeyes to national championship game appearances in back-to-back seasons, 2006 and 2007.

Tressel led the Buckeyes to two Fiesta Bowl wins (2002, 2005), a Rose Bowl victory (2010) and a win in the 2011 Sugar Bowl.

A Mentor native, Tressel is a graduate of Baldwin Wallace and Akron.

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