Gov. DeWine picks former Ohio State football coach & YSU president for lieutenant governor

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced on Monday that he has picked former Ohio State football coach and Youngstown State University president Jim Tressel to replace Sen. Jon Husted as the state’s lieutenant governor.

Husted was sworn into the Senate vacancy in January left by newly inaugurated Vice President JD Vance.

Ohio House of Representatives and Senate will need to confirm Tressel before he assumes the role, which could happen this week - chambers are in session on Wednesday.

Tressel was born in Mentor, Ohio and attended Baldwin–Wallace College, where he played football as quarterback under his father, Lee Tressel. Tressel succeeded Bill Narduzzi as Youngstown State’s fourth head football coach in 1986 and remained there until 2000.

In 2001, he was named John Cooper’s successor as the head coach of Ohio State.

From 2012 to 2014 Tressel served as Vice President of Strategic Engagement for the University of Akron, before being named as Youngstown State University President on May 9, 2014. He remained at YSU until 2023.

In a Monday statement following the announcement, the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association congratulated Tressel on his nomination.

“Governor DeWine’s choice to nominate Jim Tressel as Lt. Governor is a win for Ohio and a win for Ohio manufacturing. From his success as a football coach, in academia, and in workforce development, Jim Tressel knows Ohio,” the statement read. “The OMA congratulates Jim Tressel on his nomination of Lt. Governor and looks forward to the continued work of protecting and growing Ohio’s number one industry; manufacturing.”

This story was originally published February 10, 2025 at 11:41 AM.