Legendary Buckeyes Coach Jim Tressel Set To Join Ohio Stadium Ring of Honor

Former Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel will be inducted into the Ohio Stadium Ring of Honor before their week one matchup with Ball State.

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day talks to former head coach and current Ohio lieutenant governor Jim Tressel prior to the NCAA football game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 22, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Former Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel will receive a special honor during the Buckeyes' week one matchup with Ball State on September 5th.

Tressel, 73, made numerous stops throughout his coaching career. An Ohio native, his most memorable stop was at Ohio State, where he served as head coach from 2001 to 2010.

A Baldwin Wallace graduate, Tressel first served as a position coach at Ohio State from 1983 to 1985, coming over after stops with Akron, Miami (OH), and Syracuse. He then accepted the head coach position at Youngstown State University, a role he held from 1986 to 2000, during which he won four national titles and made numerous playoff appearances.

Following his legendary run, he finally returned to Ohio State, where he served as head coach from 2001 to 2010, winning a national title in 2002. Tressel then spent one season at the NFL level in 2011 as a consultant for the Indianapolis Colts, a role he moved into following his resignation from Ohio State for his role in a mass scandal known as "Tattoo Gate, in which multiple former Ohio State players sold team memorabilia in exchange for discounted tattoos.

Life After Coaching

Following his legendary coaching career, Tressel moved into administration, returning to serve as president of Youngstown State from 2014 to 2023. After his time with the Penguins, Tressel entered politics in 2025, accepting the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor, appointed by current Governor Mike Dewine.

Since then, Tressel has made it his mission to promote physical education and fitness in the form of the Team Tressel Fitness Challenge. Tressel has advocated for fitness education in youth, going to multiple schools across the state and speaking to children about the importance of maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle while young. I had the chance to sit down with Tressel during one of these stops in September of last year and reflect on his career.

“It’s surreal, I wanted to be a math teacher, but one thing led to another, and in 25 years I’ve been a head coach at Ohio State and Youngstown State, and a VP at Akron. Governor Dewine had an idea, and it has been a blessing.”

Jim Tressel will now take a pause from his duties as lieutenant governor, and return to Ohio Stadium to receive a place in Ohio State immortality, the Ohio Stadium Ring Of Honor.

Tressel will become the 12th man to receive the honor, joining Paul Brown and Woody Hayes as the only other coaches to be enshrined. After a career spanning over 50 years, the man who made sweater vests look cool will finally receive the recognition he deserves.