On Wednesday, the Buckeyes announced the 2015 class for the Ohio State Athletics hall of fame, including 12 former players and two former coaches. Notable inductees included Joey Galloway and Tim Anderson, but all were overshadowed by former head football coach Jim Tressel. Tressel was the head coach for the Buckeyes from 2001-10 with an overall record of 94-21, nine bowl appearances (seven of those BCS games), six Big Ten titles, and a national championship. Ohio State played in three national championship games during his tenure and posted an 8-1 record against hated rival Michigan. Yet with all these accolades and his many record-setting seasons in Columbus, his long-term legacy is far from clear. In May 2011, Tressel was forced to resign in the wake of an NCAA investigation that found the coach was not forthcoming with information regarding players selling memorabilia and receiving improper benefits. This, as Buckeye faithful know, revolves around the ‘tattoo scandal’ in which players (most notably QB Terrelle Pryor) were trading autographs and selling memorabilia to tattoo parlor owner Edward Rife. Tressel resigned in 2011 after failing to disclose known violations to the NCAA According to NCAA findings, Tressel was made aware of his players’ involvement by former Ohio State player Christopher Cicero. In various emails, Cicero informed Tressel he had discovered players were selling signed memorabilia and also made Tressel aware of Rife’s criminal history and a pending investigation by the U.S. attorney’s office. Tressel made no efforts to inform the school or the NCAA of the violations, even after five players were suspended for five games for their involvement in the scandal. Later, Ohio State’s office of legal affairs discovered the emails between Cicero and Tressel and an investigation was promptly launched. It was concluded that the head coach knew of these violations and did not disclose them to the NCAA, and Ohio State rushed to self-report the findings. Originally suspended for just two games, the school later increased Tressel’s suspension to five games and a 250,000 fine. Still under fire from the public and the school, Tressel resigned as head football coach just a few weeks later. Still fighting allegations, Ohio State offered to vacate the 2010 season and return bowl money while serving two years of probation. After a 6-6 2011 season in which the Buckeyes accepted a bid to play in the Gator Bowl while penalties still loomed; the NCAA countered with a one-year postseason ban, which was to be served during the 2012 season under new head coach Urban Meyer…
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