Tressel Takes the Field for University of Akron
AKRON, Ohio -- A large whiteboard in Jim Tressel’s office at the University of Akron speaks to how the former head football coach at Ohio State and Youngstown State universities has made the transition from the gridiron to the front office of academia.
Instead of X’s and O’s – the symbols coaching staffs use to map tactics for offense and defense – Tressel’s board is covered with scrawled ideas on how to build a student’s career from his first year in college to securing internships to finding a job and eventually becoming a productive alumnus of the university.
The methodology is different, but to Tressel, the objectives are identical: to instill and reinforce a student’s self-confidence, teach him to compete, and create a pathway to achieve success in life.
“It’s exactly the same, other than the Saturdays,” remarks Tressel, today the University of Akron’s vice president of strategic engagement. “The excitement of trying to get these kids prepared, to achieve, and to leave here with minimal debt and a job in their field – I love that challenge.”
Throughout his coaching career, Tressel says, he was always hands-on when he recruited and mentored his players as they worked their way through college. “I’ve always dealt with recruiting and student success and trying to get them ready for the future,” he reflects. “But it was usually 100 or so people, not 29,000.”
Tressel, 59, accepted his new position at Akron last February and officially started work May 1. He arrived on campus in March, after the announcement, and says that he took some time to “get the lay of the land” and grasp his new duties.
As vice president of strategic engagement, Tressel is in charge of student recruitment and retention – a position created to fulfill the goals of The Akron Experience, an initiative that pools the resources of the university and Akron community to best respond to the needs of each student attending Akron. The position pays $200,000 a year.
“The thing that strikes you most about Jim is his tremendous memory with people and their relationships,” says University of Akron President Luis Proenza. “He brings a very special aspect about how he cares about his students.”
Tressel earned a master’s degree in education from Akron in 1977 and started his coaching career there. Just before Tressel’s appointment was announced, Proenza arranged a meeting between the former Buckeyes coach and about 75 student leaders, all of whom proved very interested in Tressel’s plans.
“I think that helped Jim a great deal,” Proenza says. “The reception was very warm.”
The university president says it didn’t take long for Tressel to grasp every aspect of student recruitment at Akron, its student support systems and alumni relations.
“He’s had a tremendous impact already,” Proenza adds. “Everywhere he goes, people are excited to see him. He’s had a lot of new ideas and is shaping what we call The Akron Experience very well.”
Tressel proved an excellent fit for the position, Proenza says, and not just because of his celebrity. “His reputation around the country, and particularly across northeast Ohio, is of a person of very high integrity, of very high energy and who has tremendous interpersonal capabilities. He’s admired. He’s respected.”
But what impressed Proenza most was the degree of caring and support Tressel exhibited as a coach and mentor to student athletes. “I felt that if he could do that kind of work, that kind of relationship building and support for a larger group of students, it would be a tremendous success for him and the university.”
Tressel’s office is involved with all aspects of student recruiting and support, such as advising and on-campus student activities, Proenza reports. Moreover, Tressel is also engaged in developing a student’s involvement in activities outside the classroom – internships and co-ops, for example – that help students achieve their goals and define their life at Akron.
“We found a perfect match,” Proenza remarks.
Tressel’s office on the second floor of Buchner Hall is small, crowded with books on leadership and memorabilia from his trips abroad in 2009, when he visited U.S. servicemen stationed overseas. There’s little, if any, evidence of his career as a head coach. As for his dress, a simple shirt and tie suffice – no trademark sweater vest on this September day.
Tressel expresses excitement upon returning to northeastern Ohio, and he and his wife, Ellen, whose parents still live in the Mahoning Valley, plan to live on the west side of Akron.
“I’m only an hour away from Youngstown and my in-laws and so many friends,” Tressel says. “I’m also just a half-hour away from my brother and his family in Berea,” where he grew up.
Tressel spent 14 seasons at YSU as head coach of the Penguins and led them to four national titles before being selected in 2001 as head coach of the Buckeyes. In January 2003, he took Ohio State to its first NCAA national championship in 34 years. He resigned that post May 2011 after an NCAA investigation uncovered rules violations by players that occurred under his watch.
Tressel says he’s relaxed and content at Akron where he devotes all of his energy toward developing a first-rate program. “I always thought that I could get into education in a bigger way; that was always one of my goals. So, I hope I’m able to do this.”
But does he miss Saturday afternoons on the field, the fanfare and glory that accompanies college football?
“I haven’t missed the sidelines,” Tressel responds. “What I do miss is the interaction with the kids, the staff, and how we’re going to compete.”
The former head coach says he still loves football and is rooting heavily for the Penguins. He is excited to see this season getting off to such a great start. In August, the former coach was on YSU’s campus to dedicate the Watson And Tressel Training Site, or Watts, an indoor practice complex that Tressel was instrumental in bringing to fruition.
“I thought they were a good-looking bunch,” he says of the team, and praised head coach Eric Wolford and his staff for the work he’s done.
As for being tempted to impart any advice for coach Wolford, Tressel smiles and laughs. “Anybody who can beat Pitt doesn’t need it,” referring to YSU’s stunning 31-17 win Sept. 1 win over the Panthers. “I don’t think there’s ever been a bigger win than that win,” he adds.
There are also high hopes for the Buckeyes and quarterback Braxton Miller, on whom Tressel had his eye while the OSU standout was still a freshman in high school.
“I’ve watched him since the ninth grade,” he says. “I remember asking him if he was ready to take over for Terrelle Pryor, and he said he was. So, I always thought he was something special. As long as he stays healthy, we’re going to be good.”
In his new position, Tressel likes to think he takes that same recruiting energy and redirects it to promoting the University of Akron. That means he’s often on the road, talking at high schools and grade schools in northeast Ohio as part of his outreach duties.
For instance, in late August, Tressel spoke with faculty and staff members of the Beachwood City School District near Cleveland, says Beachwood spokesman Doug Levin.
“It went really well,” he says. “It was a little different than what we’ve done in the past.”
Levin says his school district usually invites speakers to talk on a specific discipline during the faculty and staff convocation. However, this year, the district wanted to bring in someone who could provide advice relevant to all faculty and staff.
“Some of the topics in the past didn’t relate to everybody,” he says.
Tressel touched on the importance of inspiring young people to do their best, drawing parallels with the athletes who competed in the London Olympics, Levin says. He also described some of the programs under way at Akron. “It was important to have a message that resonated with all of our staff.”
Tressel is scheduled to speak in the Mahoning Valley Nov. 1 as part of Achievers USA, a program devoted to business and entrepreneurship training and development co-founded by Greg Smith and George Landis.
“Leadership is really a service action,” Tressel notes. “It’s trying to do something for someone else and trying to find ways to make a difference.”
Among the greatest challenges for Tressel today is helping to develop ways in which young people can navigate through higher education in as timely and efficient a manner as possible.
“Recently, I had a parent ask me how many students graduate from our business school in four years,” Tressel recalls. “My response was every one of them that do what we ask them to do.”
Students are often caught in situations where they change their major halfway through college, which in turn prolongs the time it takes to earn an undergraduate degree, Tressel says. With that comes more debt.
“Right now, there’s more college debt than there is credit card debt in this country – more than a trillion dollars,” he reports. “It’s mind-boggling.”
One of his main objectives is to see that students are properly guided so they emerge from the university well-prepared and with as little debt as possible. He also believes firmly in balancing academics and athletics, and reducing external distractions that could derail a student.
“It’s a much more competitive world, much more competitive, than when I was growing up,” Tressel says. “I hope to we can help these young folks to know what it’s going to take.”
Tressel hasn’t completely shut the door on one day returning to football. “I’m way too young to rule out anything,” he reflects. “I could stay here forever, but on the other hand, you never know. We’ll have to see where it leads.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was first published in the October edition of The Business Journal. CLICK HERE to subscribe.
Copyright 2012 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.