Former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel, who led the Buckeyes to a 2002 national championship, has been named the state’s new lieutenant governor.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine made the announcement Monday that Tressel will fill out the two years remaining in the term of office, which was created when former Lt. Gov. Jon Husted was chosen to take over the U.S. Senate seat that belonged to newly elected Vice President J.D. Vance.
Tressel recently retired as the president of Youngstown State University, a position he held since 2014.
‘I wanted someone who would focus on education, someone who would focus on workforce,’ DeWine said in making the announcement.
Tressel began his head coaching career at Youngstown State in 1986, after serving as a position coach at Ohio State for three seasons. He led the Penguins to 135-57-2 record and four NCAA Division I-AA national championships in 15 seasons.
He was hired by Ohio State in 2001 to succeed John Cooper and a year later led the Buckeyes to an undefeated season and a BCS national championship.
Over 10 seasons in Columbus, Tressel’s teams compiled a record of 106-23, winning at least a share of five consecutive Big Ten conference titles and making two more appearances in the national championship game.
