Jim Tressel

About Jim Tressel

James Patrick Tressel (born December 5, 1952) is the current head football coach at The Ohio State University. He was hired in 2001 to replace John Cooper. Since becoming Ohio State's 22nd head football coach, his team has won a National Championship, achieving the first 14-0 season record in major college football since Penn went 15-0 in 1897. He has an overall record of 75-16, including four Big Ten Conference championships, a 4-3 bowl record and a 6-1 record against arch-rival Michigan. Tressel's six wins against Michigan place him second in school history to Woody Hayes' 16, and alone in Ohio State football history in winning six of his first seven meetings with the Wolverines.

Jim Tressel was born in Mentor, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, on December 5, 1952. His father, Lee Tressel, who hails from Ada, Ohio, was the coach at Mentor's high school; after a 34-game winning streak, Lee was hired as head football coach for Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, located in suburban Cleveland. B-W would go on to win the 1978 NCAA Division III National Championship under Lee Tressel. Jim attended many of his father's games and practices; he also developed a friendship with neighbor (and Cleveland Browns legend) Lou Groza -- who, like Lee Tressel, had attended Ohio State and continued to be a fan. His mother Eloise Tressel worked as the Athletic Historian at Baldwin Wallace College during Lee's time as head coach.

After graduating from Berea High School in 1971, Jim played quarterback under his father at Baldwin-Wallace. As quarterback, he earned four varsity letters and won all-conference honors as a senior in 1974. The next year, he graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor's degree in education. While at Baldwin-Wallace Jim was initiated into the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.