Jim Tressel trades the sideline for the lieutenant governor’s office
The former Ohio State and Youngstown State coach became Ohio's lieutenant governor in February 2025 after Jon Husted left for the Senate.
For most Ohioans, Jim Tressel is still the coach in the sweater vest who beat Michigan and won the 2002 national title at Ohio State. Since February 2025 he has also been Ohio’s lieutenant governor.
Gov. Mike DeWine picked Tressel to replace Jon Husted, whom DeWine had appointed to the U.S. Senate. The Ohio General Assembly confirmed the choice, as the state constitution requires when the office is vacant, and Tressel was sworn in that month.
Coach, then university president
Tressel grew up in Berea, near Cleveland, the son of a college football coach. He won four Division I-AA national championships at Youngstown State before Ohio State hired him in 2001. His Buckeyes went 106-22 over 10 seasons and won the national championship in the 2002 season.
He resigned from Ohio State in 2011 amid an NCAA case over players trading memorabilia for tattoos, and the university vacated its 2010 wins. After a stint at the University of Akron, he served as president of Youngstown State University from 2014 to 2023, which gave him years of experience running a public institution with a state budget behind it.
What the job involves
Ohio’s lieutenant governor has few duties written into the constitution beyond succeeding the governor if the office becomes vacant. In practice, the governor assigns the work. DeWine has used his lieutenant governors on workforce and economic development projects, and Tressel’s background in education and coaching made workforce training a natural fit. The office’s page is part of the governor’s website.
Tressel’s name came up in 2025 as a possible candidate for governor in 2026. He did not enter the Republican primary, which helped clear the way for Vivek Ramaswamy, who had the endorsement of the state party. We looked at Ramaswamy’s campaign and at the record of the man Tressel serves under, Gov. DeWine.
A familiar name in small-town Ohio
Few state officials draw a crowd the way a former Buckeyes coach does. In towns like Bellevue, where Friday night football still fills the stands, Tressel’s appearances at schools and workforce events get attention a typical lieutenant governor never would. Our Schools & Sports section covers the local side of that story.
His term, like DeWine’s, ends in January 2027.