Former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel was appointed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine as the state’s new lieutenant governor Monday. Credit: John Kuntz via TNS [Original caption: Youngstown State University Jim Tressel addresses the guests at the launching ceremony of Lordstown Motors Corp’s fully electric Endurance pick up, June 25, 2020, at the plant.]
The position became available after DeWine appointed Jon Husted to former senator of Ohio — and now Vice President of the United States — J.D. Vance’s Senate seat Jan. 17, per prior Lantern reporting.
Tressel must now await confirmation by the Ohio House and Senate, according to the Statehouse News Bureau. If confirmed, Tressel will serve for the remaining two years of DeWine’s term.
The Mentor, Ohio, native served as the head coach of the Buckeyes football team from 2001-10, during which he won the National Championship in 2002, according to the Youngstown State website.
Tressel also played college football at Baldwin Wallace University, before he began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Akron in 1975.
Following his coaching career, Tressel worked for the University of Akron as the vice president of strategic engagement from 2012-14, before he was appointed as president of Youngstown State University in 2014. In 2023, Tressel retired as president.
With Vance’s departure from the Senate, potential candidates for the Ohio gubernatorial race have been scrambled, as Husted was formerly prepared to make a bid for governor, per prior Lantern reporting.
DeWine reportedly passed over former U.S. presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy for the Senate seat, according to the Associated Press. This pass has led to speculation that Ramaswamy may take on a campaign for Ohio governor.
