“After meeting with university officials, we agreed that it is in the best interest of Ohio State that I resign as head football coach,” Tressel said in a statement released by the school on Monday. “The appreciation that [wife] Ellen and I have for the Buckeye Nation is immeasurable.”
The school said assistant coach Luke Fickell will serve as interim coach for the 2011 season. Fickell had already been selected to coach the team for the first five games of the upcoming campaign while Tressel sat out a suspension stemming from the incident.
“We look forward to refocusing the football program on doing what we do best — representing this extraordinary university and its values on the field, in the classroom, and in life,” said athletic director Gene Smith in the school’s release. “We look forward to supporting Luke Fickell in his role as our football coach. We have full confidence in his ability to lead our football program.”
The school said a search for the full-time coach will not begin until after the 2011 season, but added that it would include external and internal candidates.
Tressel had been Ohio State’s head coach since 2001. He guided the Buckeyes to a national championship in 2002 and owns a record of 106-22, including a 12-1 mark last season. Ohio State has won or shared seven Big Ten titles under Tressel, who took over after a highly-successful tenure at I-AA [now FCS] Youngstown State.
Tressel’s troubles became known in December when the school announced that five players, including star quarterback Terrelle Pryor, would be suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season for receiving improper benefits in 2009.
Pryor, running back Dan Herron, receiver DeVier Posey, offensive lineman Mike Adams and defensive lineman Solomon Thomas were also suspended five games. Linebacker Jordan Whiting was also suspended one game for a lesser infraction. All six, though, were able to play in the Sugar Bowl on January 4 against Arkansas in a somewhat controversial decision.
In January, Ohio State officials learned that Tressel was informed of the potential violations the previous April in an email from a former Buckeye. Tressel did not inform the school of the possible transgressions and also signed an NCAA compliance form that indicated he knew of no potential violations within his program.
The school originally slapped Tressel with a two-game suspension and a fine of $250,000, but the coach later asked for the penalty to be increased by three games to equal the length of his players’ suspensions.
Ohio State officials, including school president E. Gordon Gee and Smith, said then they fully supported Tressel, but the NCAA issued a notice of allegations in late April regarding the football program, and Tressel could face severe sanctions from the governing body for lying.
The school has until July 5 to issue a response to the NCAA. The Committee on Infractions is then expected to hear the case during its August 12 meeting in Indianapolis.
Visit www.aasiwins.com for all your FREE NCAAF winners news, articles, and updates.