Jim Tressel for Youngstown State president?

By Bertram de Souza on 08:19, 10/17/09
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There are whispers that Ohio State University football coach Jim Tressel, one of the most popular Mahoning Valley residents when he coached at Youngstown State University, has been nominated for president of YSU. The nomination was contained in a letter sent to the presidential search committee by a veteran faculty member who did not consult with Tressel before doing so.

Tressel reportedly has become aware that his name has been submitted, but had not withdrawn it from consideration as of late last week. However, it is believed that he is not currently interested in leaving one of the most glorified college coaching positions in the nation.

On the other hand, with Ohio State's loss to Purdue Saturday, the discontent among rabid Buckeye fans will continue grow. Whether that has any bearing on Tressel's decision about his future is anybody's guess. But what is known is that once the letter of nomination became a topic of discussion among the coach's many friends in the Valley, support for his candidacy began to grow.

Old university hands — a nice way of saying members of YSU's old guard — believe that having Tressel at the helm would be a feather in the institution's cap. His national reputation would certainly be a positive in terms of fund raising, the thinking goes.

On the other hand, Tressel does not have strong academic credentials, which many contend is absolutely necessary for the next president — the current president, Dr. David Sweet, will be leaving when his contract expires on July 1 — because YSU is under pressure from Chancellor of Higher Education Eric Fingerhut to justify its existence as a university.

Fingerhut has made it clear that Youngstown State must be able to identify areas of study that set it apart from all the other state universities and colleges.

Nonetheless, the mere fact that Tressel's name is even being mentioned for the presidency shows just how highly regarded he still is in the Mahoning Valley.

Comments

Posted by Swede06 (anonymous) on October 19, 2009 at 8:32 a.m.

Just what we need for YSU...an egomaniac with a thirst for power and control...someone who ran the Athletic Department with an iron fist.
Saint Tressel needs to do what his fellow Republicans want him to do...run for state office...THEN he can ignore us like the rest.

Posted by badeepster (anonymous) on October 20, 2009 at 7:18 a.m.

He was "nominated" by nutball Tom Shipka, who used to be a well-respected professor at YSU and is now somewhat of a "mad scientist." The same guy who quit emceeing banquets because he was mad at Sweet. Took his toys and went home. He should stick to the schooners at the Dawn, and leave the nominating to those with their marbles intact.

Posted by ysu3000 (anonymous) on October 20, 2009 at 3:37 p.m.

I don’t believe either gentleman deserves such vile comments. Coach Tressel has not forgotten the Youngstown area and Dr. Shiptka has accomplished more good than most. How many million dollar donors to YSU are there? Have any of our previous YSU presidents remembered the Valley after they retired? How many are still members of our community or have donated to YSU? Perhaps, caring about the Valley, as these two gentlemen have, should be a more valued criterion for the job of president at YSU than it currently is.

Posted by buzz2013 (anonymous) on October 20, 2009 at 3:39 p.m.

There is no way Tressel is leaving Ohio State. That's his dream job.

Posted by Jessiedavid (anonymous) on October 20, 2009 at 9:14 p.m.

ysu3000, You've made some great points! And I agree with all that you've said.

Posted by badeepster (anonymous) on October 20, 2009 at 10:38 p.m.

Relax YSU3000--I was only joking to see if anyone was paying attention to this story. Shipka has been a valued YSU prof and has made great contributions to the University. Don't think Tressel will be interested, but we'll see.

Posted by Search4Answers (anonymous) on October 20, 2009 at 11:13 p.m.

Tressel certainly is doing a good job at creating overranked teams that embarrass themselves. Perhaps it's time he moved on to something else.

Posted by GTX66 (anonymous) on October 23, 2009 at 10:03 p.m.

Jim Traficant would do a better job. Why would Tressel leave the head coaching job at YSU to be the President of YSU? A job that he is not qualified for. I have seen better writing in the Boardman News. The Vindy nerds some writers---BAD!