And We Thought Pilarz Was A Bad Hire!

[Tugg Speedman]

The problem with being a dirty football coach is the University president gets in the way.  Problem solved ... hire a dirty football coach as the President!!!

Jim Tressel chosen as president of Youngstown State University

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/05/jim_tressel_chosen_as_presiden.html

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Jim Tressel will be the next president of Youngstown State University.

YSU's board of trustees voted unanimously today to offer the position of president to Tressel, executive vice president for student success at the University of Akron.

The appointment is not final until contract terms can be reached, trustees said.

"œAfter fully examining each and every candidate and reviewing the input from hundreds of individuals across the campus and the community, the Board of Trustees believes Mr. Tressel is the right individual at the right time to lead Youngstown State University,"  trustee chairman Sudershan Garg said in a press release. "œMr. Tressel has the personality and leadership skills, in addition to widespread community support, to dramatically raise YSU''™s profile and prominence across Ohio and the nation."

Tressel returns to the Mahoning Valley and the institution where he coached football from 1986 to 2000.

Since then he coached at Ohio State University and spent two years in administration at UA.

Tressel, who told a forum at YSU that he never planned to coach football again, was also a finalist for president at the University of Akron.

Scott Scarborough, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Toledo, was named UA president on Thursday.

Tressel was not at the announcement at UA and was not on campus today. Officials did not know if he withdrew his name from consideration for the presidency there.

The other finalists at YSU were Mary Cullinan, president of Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon and Gary Miller, chancellor of the University of North Carolina- Wilmington.

YSU was forced to seek a new president after President Randy Dunn, after only seven months in the job, told the board of trustees in February he was resigning to become president of Southern Illinois University. He left the university at the end of March.

The trustees put the search on the fast track and when Tressel'™s name surfaced as a candidate community leaders promoted him for president. Tressel later applied for the position.

"While admittedly this is a very busy time in my professional life, it seems only right to see if the time and fit is right for the Tressels at Youngstown State," he said in his application letter.

His wife, Ellen, graduated from YSU, as did one of his sons.

[Gato78]

But he will have to live in Youngstown. That is some pretty harsh penance.

[Aughnanure]

Why has no college hired Jim Tressel? Am I missing something (probably)? I never remember anything about the end of his tenure that would make him as untouchable as he apparently has become.

Mike Leach, Kelvin Sampson, and a host of other "dirty" college coaches have quickly found work.

[keefe]

But he will have to live in Youngstown. That is some pretty harsh penance.

That's exactly what I thought. Especially the candidate from Ashland, OR. What in the hell was she thinking? Relocating from Ashland to Youngstown is a life style change of gargantuan proportions.

[Tugg Speedman]

Why has no college hired Jim Tressel? Am I missing something (probably)? I never remember anything about the end of his tenure that would make him as untouchable as he apparently has become.

Mike Leach, Kelvin Sampson, and a host of other "dirty" college coaches have quickly found work.

Tressel is more in the Ben Howland camp.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Tressel

NCAA violations and resignation

On March 8, 2011, Ohio State suspended Tressel for the first two games of the 2011 season and fined him $250,000 for failing to notify the school of NCAA violations involving Ohio State football players. The players had a financial arrangement with Edward Rife, owner of a local tattoo parlor, who was at the time under investigation by the FBI for drug trafficking.[35] The arrangement, which resulted in five Ohio State football players being suspended, involved trading championship rings, jerseys, and other football-related awards for tattoos. That arrangement was a violation of NCAA rules, and would have rendered the players, including star quarterback Terrelle Pryor, ineligible to play for portions of the 2010 season.

Tressel was first notified of the arrangement in April 2010 when he received several e-mails from Chris Cicero, a local attorney and former Ohio State walk-on football player. Tressel never forwarded the e-mails, or the information contained in them about potential violations, to his school's compliance office or the NCAA. Although Tressel had held the position of Athletic Director at Youngstown State, Tressel's excuse was that he did not know who to contact when he learned of the alleged violations. Tressel also later claimed not to have acted because of concerns about the confidentiality of the information, yet he immediately forwarded the first e-mail to Terrelle Pryor's mentor.

On December 7, 2010, Ohio State was notified by the Department of Justice that it had in its possession many items of Ohio State sports memorabilia seized from Edward Rife's tattoo parlor. In the ensuing investigation Tressel was questioned by Ohio State on December 16 concerning his knowledge of the activities disclosed by the Justice Department (the sale of rings, jerseys, and football memorabilia to Rife). Tressel denied any specific knowledge of the violations, and claimed that he could not remember who had given him the vague information. A week later Tressel exchanged text messages with Cicero, the attorney who had originally notified him of the activities back in April. Tressel verified that the Justice Department matter involved the same players and issues as the April e-mails. Tressel remained silent, his long-time knowledge of the violations (and his subsequent intentional fielding of ineligible players throughout the season) was only revealed when Ohio State inadvertently discovered the April 2010 Cicero e-mails in an unrelated search in January 2011.[36][37][38]

On March 17, 2011, it was announced that Tressel requested Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith that he extend his own suspension to the same number of games as his players. Smith accepted the request, and, as a result, Tressel would have missed the first five games of the 2011 season.[39]


"No, are you kidding?...I'm just hoping the coach doesn't dismiss me."

—Ohio State President Gordon Gee, when asked whether he would fire Tressel[40]



Ohio State President Gordon Gee assured the public that Tressel would not lose his job over the matter.[41] On April 25, 2011, the NCAA accused Tressel of withholding information and lying to keep Buckeyes players on the field. In a "notice of allegations" sent to Ohio State, the NCAA charged that Tressel's actions were considered "potential major violations" which had "permitted football student-athletes to participate in intercollegiate athletics while ineligible." The report also said he "failed to comport himself ... (with) honesty and integrity" and that he lied when he filled out a compliance form in September stating that he had no knowledge of NCAA violations by any of his players.[42] Tressel later stated that he lied about the violations because he didn't want to jeopardize the FBI's investigation against Rife and also feared for his players' safety. Despite his stated safety concerns, Tressel only briefly spoke with two players, never inquired of the two if other players were involved and also in danger, nor in his discussions with players ever mentioned Mr. Rife, the tattoo parlor, or the selling of Ohio State merchandise.[43] The NCAA's report explicitly refuted the credibility of this excuse.[43]

Tressel resigned as Ohio State's head football coach on May 30, 2011.[44] Three days earlier, Sports Illustrated reported that it had found evidence that the memorabilia-for-tattoos scandal dated back to at least the 2002 national championship season, and as many as 28 players were involved. Early on the morning of Memorial Day, Gee and Smith called Tressel back from his vacation in Florida and asked for his resignation.[45][46] The Columbus Dispatch reported that Gee had appointed a special committee to examine the scandal's impact on the school. It also reported that Ohio State had been looking to cut ties with Tressel for several weeks.[47] Tressel said in a statement released by the university, "After meeting with university officials, we agreed that it is in the best interest of Ohio State that I resign as head football coach. The appreciation that Ellen and I have for the Buckeye Nation is immeasurable." Luke Fickell, previously co-defensive coordinator and assistant head coach, served as head coach for the 2011 football season.[48]

Tressel left Ohio State as the third-winningest coach in school history, behind Woody Hayes and John Cooper. However, on July 8, 2011, Ohio State vacated all of its wins from the 2010 season and placed the football program on two years' probation.[49]

On December 20, 2011 the NCAA placed Ohio State on an additional one year's probation and banned it from postseason play in 2012 for numerous major violations under Tressel's watch. It also imposed a five-year show-cause penalty on Tressel, which means any NCAA member that wants to hire him would have to "show cause" for why it shouldn't be sanctioned for hiring him, and could face severe penalties if he commits any further violations during that time. The order stands until December 19, 2016; given past precedent, it will likely have the effect of blackballing Tressel from the coaching ranks until the 2017 season. If Tressel ever coaches again during this period, he will be suspended for the first five games of the regular season, plus any conference championship game or bowl

[keefe]

Tressel is more in the Ben Howland camp.

Not sure. The difference between Pilarz and Tressel is that Pilarz had no idea what he was doing while Tressel knew very well what he was about.

[MUSF]

Why has no college hired Jim Tressel? Am I missing something (probably)? I never remember anything about the end of his tenure that would make him as untouchable as he apparently has become.

Mike Leach, Kelvin Sampson, and a host of other "dirty" college coaches have quickly found work.

I think one of the major problems with Tressel is that so much of his coaching success was tied to the perception of high moral character, integrity, and "doing things the right way". His book, The Winners Manual is full of this stuff. He hitched his coaching wagon to being above reproach, and now that's all gone. I think that makes it harder for him to get another high level gig. It's different for a guy like Mike Leach who is known as a quirky dude with an exceptional and innovative mind for offensive football.

[keefe]

I think one of the major problems with Tressel is that so much of his coaching success was tied to the perception of high moral character, integrity, and "doing things the right way". His book, The Winners Manual is full of this stuff. He hitched his coaching wagon to being above reproach, and now that's all gone. I think that makes it harder for him to get another high level gig. It's different for a guy like Mike Leach who is known as a quirky dude with an exceptional and innovative mind for offensive football.

Well, as a Michigan alum, I can assure you that no one in Ann Arbor bought into Tressel's narrative. All one needed to do was look at his tenure at Youngstown State to know he was as a dirty as a $2 hooker's knickers.

[Boozemon Barro]

Tressel has a show cause until 2016 and he's currently 61. That show cause penalty pretty much assured that he would never coach in the collegiate ranks again.

[Dawson Rental]

Speaking of bad presidential hires, doesn't the Tressel article included by Heisenberg include a mention of Gordon Gee?

[MUSF]

Speaking of bad presidential hires, doesn't the Tressel article included by Heisenberg include a mention of Gordon Gee?

That guy was a clown. He and OSU deserved each other.

[GGGG]

I think if he surrounds himself with good people to deal with the academic side of things, that this is a good hire for a place like Youngstown. 

[texaswarrior74]

Grew up there...left as soon as I could. Most of my family and my wife's family are still there.

Their previous president left after 8 months on the job to return to what he considered home. The cost of the prior search and public opinion that the BOT is inept created quite a furor in the community.

31 of the most powerful business leaders and politicians came together and wrote a letter (published in the local paper) calling for Tressel to be the top candidate for the job. The fact that Akron also wanted him only made the locals that more earnest in wanting him.

He interviewed on back to back days for both jobs and when the YSU powers to be told him the job was his if he wanted it, he withdrew his name from the Akron search despite the fact that he was their top choice and the salary was higher.

Tressel is at near godlike status in NE Ohio- in fact in most of Ohio to this day. My 85 year old mom and 90 year old dad ( both YSU grads) are close personal friends with Tressel and couldn't be happier with the decision.

Tressel and his parents were major contributors to the new athletic complex that includes indoor practice facility, weight rooms and much more long after he left YSU for tOSU so those in the Mahoning Valley consider him one of their own.

In his main job of a fundraiser he should be very successful . There are at least four other key positions including Provost and several Deans that need to be filled...those will be the litmus test for him. His biggest priority needs to be with who he finds for the Provost position.

The jury is definitely out because his detractors are waiting for him to fail.

[Tugg Speedman]

I think if he surrounds himself with good people to deal with the academic side of things, that this is a good hire for a place like Youngstown. 

This quote also applies to anyone YSU could randomly pick from the Youngstown phone-book.

He has already shown he was incapable of managing a football team, which is why he was fired.  What part of that incompetence makes him qualified to "pick good people on the academic side?"

I understand Tressel would be a good fund-raiser for YSU.  So give him a trustee of "Special Assistant to the President" or so other BS title that makes him sound important.  

By making him President that all but announced YSU is not a university anymore but a NFL minor league team.

[GGGG]

This quote also applies to anyone YSU could randomly pick from the Youngstown phone-book.

He has already shown he was incapable of managing a football team, which is why he was fired.  What part of that incompetence makes him qualified to "pick good people on the academic side?"

I understand Tressel would be a good fund-raiser for YSU.  So give him a trustee of "Special Assistant to the President" or so other BS title that makes him sound important. 

By making him President that all but announced YSU is not a university anymore but a NFL minor league team.

Many schools hire "non-academics" as presidents and they do just fine.  David Boren at Oklahoma is considered one of the great college presidents around these days, and he was nothing but a politician his entire life before taking on that role.

I'm not saying that he is clearly a great hire or anything.  But he *could* be very good...if he hires the right people...if he learns from his days in administration at Akron...and if he learned from his mistakes.

And I don't quite understand the "NFL minor league team" comment.

[keefe]

Many schools hire "non-academics" as presidents and they do just fine.  David Boren at Oklahoma is considered one of the great college presidents around these days, and he was nothing but a politician his entire life before taking on that role.

I'm not saying that he is clearly a great hire or anything.  But he *could* be very good...if he hires the right people...if he learns from his days in administration at Akron...and if he learned from his mistakes.

And I don't quite understand the "NFL minor league team" comment.

Alright, that's way over the line even for you Sultan. David Boren is a distinguished scholar with senior executive experience who has performed superbly as the head of his state's flagship university. Boren is a Yale Phi Beta Kappa, Skull and Bones Rhodes Scholar who earned his Masters from Oxford. And for many years he taught courses at two different Oklahoma colleges - was Les Aspin's tenure as a professor at Marquette diminished because he had served in government?

Comparing David Boren to a disgraced figure like Jim Tressel is a absurd. You really need to withdraw that comparison.

[GGGG]

My point in comparison is that Boren had no administrative experience running anything prior to being named president of OU.

But I was wrong anyway...he was governor of Oklahoma.

[JWags85]

That guy was a clown. He and OSU deserved each other.

Depends on your definition of a "bad hire".  Gee made some stupid comments but as a president, your primary job is fundraising and he was KILLER in that regard.  OSU has been rapidly rising up the academic rankings cause their endowment is growing like crazy and they are tossing tons of scholarship money at all the top kids in Ohio and making themselves an academic priority for the most desirable.  OSU would gladly take the bad PR about football in exchange for the billions he brought in to the university.

[keefe]

Depends on your definition of a "bad hire".  Gee made some stupid comments but as a president, your primary job is fundraising and he was KILLER in that regard.  OSU has been rapidly rising up the academic rankings cause their endowment is growing like crazy and they are tossing tons of scholarship money at all the top kids in Ohio and making themselves an academic priority for the most desirable.  OSU would gladly take the bad PR about football in exchange for the billions he brought in to the university.

You are wrong Wags. What's this fund raising sh1t? A University President's primary job responsibility is to teach Poetry classes.

[keefe]

My point in comparison is that Boren had no administrative experience running anything prior to being named president of OU.

But I was wrong anyway...he was governor of Oklahoma.

Precisely. He was an extremely effective governor at that. Everything about David Boren is exemplary. He has an impeccable record of accomplishment as a scholar, policy maker, and senior executive. I may not agree with all of his decisions and policy initiatives but I respect everything he has ever done because I believe his judgment is based on exceptional reason and solid core values. David Boren is an outstanding American - we would be well served with many more like him. To compare David Boren to someone like Jim Tressel is specious if not fatuous.

[Tugg Speedman]

And I don't quite understand the "NFL minor league team" comment.

Ask anybody who doesn't live in Youngstown if they've heard of the school, and all the yeses will come largely based on the football program. 

By hiring a former (disgraced) head coach is just cementing that YSU is primarily a football program.

[Dawson Rental]

This quote also applies to anyone YSU could randomly pick from the Youngstown phone-book.

He has already shown he was incapable of managing a football team, which is why he was fired.  What part of that incompetence makes him qualified to "pick good people on the academic side?"

I understand Tressel would be a good fund-raiser for YSU.  So give him a trustee of "Special Assistant to the President" or so other BS title that makes him sound important.  

By making him President that all but announced YSU is not a university anymore but a NFL minor league team.

So, your position is that Bobby Cooley who makes pizzas at Ed's Pizzeria and Ice Cream Parlor could raise money just as effectively for Youngstown State as Tressel?  Interesting.  I guess we could wait and see what choices Bobby makes on his first ever suit purchases before making a definitive decision.

[Tugg Speedman]

So, your position is that Bobby Cooley who makes pizzas at Ed's Pizzeria and Ice Cream Parlor could raise money just as effectively for Youngstown State as Tressel?  Interesting.  I guess we could wait and see what choices Bobby makes on his first ever suit purchases before making a definitive decision.

I'm curious .... how many things did you have to mis-read to think I said this?

[Dawson Rental]

I'm curious .... how many things did you have to mis-read to think I said this?

Let's investigate and see!  First Sultan said:

I think if he surrounds himself with good people to deal with the academic side of things, that this is a good hire for a place like Youngstown.  

I'm pretty sure that I understood that okay.  Please note that Sultan is talking about a Youngstown State president surrounding themself with people to deal with the academic side of things and does not mention surrounding themself with people to do the fundraising.

Then you replied:

This quote also applies to anyone YSU could randomly pick from the Youngstown phone-book.

My kid assures me that I understood that, as well.

Of course, you went on to say:

I understand Tressel would be a good fund-raiser for YSU.  So give him a trustee of "Special Assistant to the President" or so other BS title that makes him sound important.  

So, really our disagreement comes down to whether or not Jim Tressel would work as a "Special Assistant" to a pimply faced kid who is wearing his just bought, first ever suit.

I also think that our opinions differ regarding the wisdom of using hyperbole in posts.

[Tugg Speedman]

I happen to think a University President also needs to lead and set a vision for the University.  What does the University want to be?  What does it want to do?  How does it intend on doing it?  That is more than "smiling and dialing" for money.

So, if you think the YSU President is essentially a fund raiser, and little else, than a schmoozer like Tressel is a good hire.  So, if you know what you want now, and just lack the money to do it, hire Tressel.

But if you want your President to make strategic decisions. like hire an engineering school dean, or lead an effort to expanding a nursing school, or raise the academic profile of your school, or attract world class professors to teach and research, I'm not sure what makes a disgraced football coach a good hire for this.