Coach Jim Tressel Set for Sept. 19 NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, Presented by Fidelity Investments – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 18, 2015
IRVING, Texas (Sept. 18, 2015) – Ohio State University and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that they will jointly honor Coach Jim Tressel, with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, this Saturday, Sept. 19, in Columbus, Ohio, during the game between Ohio State and Northern Illinois. Coverage of the game will start at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN2.
“It is an extraordinary honor to have been selected by the National Football Foundation as a member of the 2015 class of the College Football Hall of Fame,” Tressel said after the announcement in January. “To be inducted alongside such a distinguished group of players and coaches, and to join the previously elected members, is certainly humbling. I am forever indebted to the outstanding student-athletes and coaches that have made this moment possible.”
The NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute program is a hallowed tradition that began with the inaugural class in 1951, and to this day the salutes remain the first of numerous activities in each inductee’s Hall of Fame experience. During the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, each inductee returns to his alma mater to accept a Hall of Fame plaque that will remain on permanent display at the institution. The events take place on the field during a home game, and many inductees cite the experience as the ultimate capstone to their careers, providing them one more chance to take the field and hear the crowd roar their name.
“Coach Jim Tressel is one of the greatest coaches in the history of college football,” said NFF President and CEO Steve Hatchell. “The Buckeyes’ 2002 BCS National Championship gave him five career national titles and made him the only head coach to win one at both levels of Division I college football. We are thrilled to honor him in front of the Ohio State faithful at The Horseshoe.”
One of the greatest coaches in the history of the state of Ohio, Jim Tressel brought five national titles to the state, and he is the only head coach to win a national title at both levels of Division I college football. Along the way, he amassed an impressive career record of 229-79-2 (74.2%).
Tressel became the head coach at Ohio State in 2001, and he led the Buckeyes to the BCS National Championship a year later, with subsequent appearances in the championship game following the 2006 and 2007 seasons. He led Ohio State to national rankings every season, including seven finishes in the top five, and at least a share of six Big Ten titles. During his time in Columbus, Ohio, Tressel received Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year, Bear Bryant Award and FWAA Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year honors.
Tressel served as head coach at Youngstown State from 1986-2000, leading the Penguins to 10 postseason berths in 15 seasons and four FCS national championships in six appearances in the title game. Boasting the most wins of any FCS coach during the 1990s, Tressel led Youngstown State to the 1987 Ohio Valley Conference title, and he was named OVC Coach of the Year. He was also a two-time AFCA National Coach of the Year and the 1994 FCS Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year while with the Penguins.
During his career at both universities, Tressel coached 10 national major award winners, including 2006 Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, as well as 73 First Team All-Americans and 80 first team all-conference selections. The Berea, Ohio, native also coached seven Academic All-Americans and three NFF National Scholar-Athletes, including 2003 William V. Campbell Trophy winner Craig Krenzel.
Tressel was a first team all-conference quarterback at Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio), where he played for his father, College Football Hall of Fame coach Lee Tressel. A member of the Youngstown State Athletics Hall of Fame, he is also enshrined in the Greater Cleveland Sports and Baldwin-Wallace Athletics Halls of Fame. After his coaching days, Tressel served as a consultant for the Indianapolis Colts and as Vice President of Strategic Engagement for the University of Akron before becoming president at Youngstown State University in July 2014.
Tressel becomes the seventh Buckeyes coach to be inducted, joining Earle Bruce (1979-87), John Cooper (1988–2000), Woody Hayes (1951-78), Howard Jones (1910), Francis Schmidt (1934-40) and John Wilce (1913-28). Twenty-four former Ohio State players are also enshrined in the Hall: Warren Amling (1944-46), Hopalong Cassady (1952-55), Jim Daniell (1939-41), Bob Ferguson (1959-61), Wes Fesler (1928-30), Eddie George (1992-95), Randy Gradishar (1971-73), Archie Griffin (1972-75), Chic Harley (1916-17, 1919), John Hicks (1970, 1972-73), Les Horvath (1940-42, 1944), Jim Houston (1957-59), Vic Janowicz (1949-51), Gomer Jones (1933-35), Rex Kern (1968-70), Orlando Pace (1994-96), Jim Parker (1954-56), Chris Spielman (1984-87), Jim Stillwagon (1968-70), Gaylord Stinchcomb (1917, 1919-20), Jack Tatum (1968-70), Aurealius Thomas (1955-57), Bill Willis (1942-44) and Gust Zarnas (1935-37).
Including the 2015 class, only 963 players and 209 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.12 million people who have played or coached the game over the past 147 years. In other words, only two ten-thousandths of one percent (.0002) of those who have set foot on the gridiron have earned the distinction. Click here for a complete list of players and coaches in the Hall.
The 2015 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted at the 58th NFF Annual Awards Dinner, held at New York City’s historic Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Tuesday, Dec. 8. This year’s College Football Hall of Fame Class includes: Trev Alberts (Nebraska), Brian Bosworth (Oklahoma), Bob Breunig (Arizona State), Sean Brewer (Millsaps [Miss.]), Ruben Brown (Pittsburgh), Wes Chandler (Florida), Thom Gatewood (Notre Dame), Dick Jauron (Yale), Clinton Jones (Michigan State), Lincoln Kennedy (Washington), the late Rob Lytle (Michigan), Michael Payton (Marshall), Art Still (Kentucky), Zach Thomas (Texas Tech), Ricky Williams (Texas) and coaches Bill Snyder (Kansas State) and Jim Tressel (Youngstown State, Ohio State). For more information, please contact Will Rudd at wrudd@footballfoundation.com or by calling 972.556.1000.
Remaining Scheduled 2015 NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes
Presented by Fidelity Investments
(Chronological Order)
|
DATE |
INDUCTEE |
SCHOOL (YEARS PLAYED/COACHED) |
OPPOSING TEAM |
|
Sept. 19 |
Art Still |
Kentucky (1974-77) |
Florida |
|
Sept. 19 |
Coach Jim Tressel |
Ohio State (2001-10) |
Northern Illinois |
|
Sept. 26 |
Rob Lytle |
Michigan (1974-76) |
BYU |
|
Sept. 26 |
Thom Gatewood |
Notre Dame (1969-71) |
UMass |
|
Sept. 26 |
Zach Thomas |
Texas Tech (1992-95) |
TCU |
|
Oct. 3 |
Michael Payton |
Marshall (1989-92) |
Old Dominion |
|
Oct. 3 |
Brian Bosworth |
Oklahoma (1984-86) |
West Virginia |
|
Oct. 10 |
Sean Brewer |
Millsaps [Miss.] (1989-92) |
Centre [Ky.] |
|
Oct. 10 |
Trev Alberts |
Nebraska (1990-93) |
Wisconsin |
|
Oct. 10 |
Coach Jim Tressel |
Youngstown State (1986-2000) |
Illinois State |
|
Oct. 24 |
Ricky Williams |
Texas (1995-98) |
Kansas State |
|
Oct. 29 |
Ruben Brown |
Pittsburgh (1991-94) |
North Carolina |
|
Nov. 14 |
Bob Breunig |
Arizona State (1972-74) |
Washington |
|
Nov. 21 |
Dick Jauron |
Yale (1970-72) |
Harvard |
|
Nov. 27 |
Lincoln Kennedy |
Washington (1989-92) |
Washington State |
The 2015 season marks the sixth season that Fidelity Investments, a leading provider of not-for-profit workplace retirement savings plans to higher education employees, is serving as the national presenting sponsor of the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes. The salutes are one component of a multi-year initiative between the two organizations to celebrate the scholar-athlete ideal and a joint commitment to higher education. At the start of the 2014 season, Fidelity became the presenting sponsor of the William V. Campbell Trophy, college football’s premier scholar-athlete award, which will be presented for the 26th time in 2015. Other highlights of the sponsorship include Fidelity becoming the first presenting sponsor of the organization’s prestigious NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards and helping launch the NFF Faculty Salutes Initiative, which recognizes the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives around the country.
