Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel has resigned, university sources told The Dispatch today.
Less than three months after President E. Gordon Gee and Athletic Director Gene Smith said they fully supported their embattled coach, mounting pressure, a pending NCAA disciplinary hearing and new revelations about the culture of the program forced the university to act on their once-revered coach, sources said.
Neither Gee, Smith nor Tressel could be reached immediately for comment.
Sources said assistant coach Luke Fickell, who had been named to coach the first five games of the season while Tressel served his suspension for withholding information from the university compliance office and the NCAA, will serve as interim coach of the Buckeyes all of next season.
The Dispatch has obtained a memo Gee sent to OSU trustees this morning:
"I write to let you know that later this morning we will be announcing the resignation of Jim Tressel as head coach of the University's football program. As you all know, I appointed a special committee to analyze and provide advice to me regarding issues attendant to our football program. In consultation with the senior leadership of the University and the senior leadership of the Board, I have been actively reviewing the matter and have accepted Coach Tressel's resignation.
"My public statement will include our common understanding that throughout all we do, we are One University with one set of standards and one overarching mission. The University's enduring public purposes and its tradition of excellence continue to guide our actions," Gee wrote.
Ohio State's football program came under fire in December when six players were suspended by the NCAA for selling or trading uniforms and other memorabilia to a Columbus tattoo-parlor owner. The NCAA also drew criticism for allowing the players to participate in the Sugar Bowl instead of serving their suspensions immediately.
Tattoo-parlor owner Edward Rife was under investigation for drug trafficking when his unrelated trading for OSU memorabilia came to light. It was revealed in federal court on Friday that Edward Rife, owner of Fine Line Ink Tattoos on Sullivant Avenue on the Hilltop, agreed in December to plead guilty to drug trafficking and money laundering. As part of the agreement, Rife must forfeit all of his OSU memorabilia if he does not come up with $50,000, the amount federal investigators say he made in profit selling marijuana.
Tressel expressed surprise in December at the revelations of his players being involved with the tattoo-parlor operator, but the university learned in January that Tressel was told of the relationship last April in an email from a former OSU player. The coach did not share that information with the university as his contract requires, nor did he reveal it when he signed an NCAA compliance form in September verifying that he was unaware of any possible violations.
He was suspended two games and fined $250,000 for his actions. He requested that his suspension be increased to five games to match the penalty his players received. The university obliged.
Tressel's contract was renewed last spring through 2014. He earns about $3.7 million annually in salary and other incentives. He leaves Ohio State with an impressive coaching resume, having led the school to its fifth national le as well as directing impressive runs of Big Ten championships and victories over archrival Michigan.
The coach who came to Ohio State from Division I-AA Youngtown State University leaves OSU as one of the most recognizable figures in college football and all sports with a record of 106-22 at OSU. His
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