Between his coaching days at Youngstown State and Ohio State, Jim Tressel amassed five national titles.
In ten seasons at Ohio State, Jim Tressel amassed five BCS bowl wins, coached ten consensus All-Americans, a Heisman Trophy winner and a record of 106-22. (94-21 and four BCS bowls if you let the NCAA tell it.) He also posted a sterling 9-1 record against a certain school up north.
In the end, it appears Tatgate sunk Tressel's nomination, which was sponsored by Youngstown State, not Ohio State. Oregon's Mike Bellotti and Appalachian State's Jerry Moore were inducted over him. Here's the whole 2014 class:
| NAME | POSITION | SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|
| LaDainian Tomlinson | RB | Texas Christian |
| Sterling Sharpe | WR | South Carolina |
| Willie Roaf | OL | Louisiana Tech |
| Tony Boselli | OL | Southern Cal |
| Shane Conlan | LB | Penn State |
| Darrin Nelson | RB/KR | Stanford |
| Derrick Thomas | LB | Alabama |
| Dré Bly | CB | North Carolina |
| Joe Hamilton | QB | Georgia Tech |
| Wesley Walls | TE | Ole Miss |
| Dave Butz | DL | Purdue |
| John Sciarra | QB | UCLA |
| John Huard | LB | Maine |
| Bryan Smith | LB | McNeese State |
| Mike Bellotti | Coach | Oregon |
| Jerry Moore | Coach | Appalachian State |
If the College Football Hall of Fame is inducting people like Mike Bellotti, it must be assumed they're punishing Tressel due to his show-clause from the Tatgate fallout. (And here I thought we had progressed as a society since those simple times in 2010.)
It's now a matter of when Tressel gets into the Hall of Fame, not if. Oklahoma's Barry Switzer — a person not unfamiliar with NCAA scandal — took 11 ballots to earn his election; Auburn's Pat Dye took 15.
Still, it's disappointing one bad decision cost Tressel the rare honor his career dictates he deserves.
