ern's: Jim Tressel resigns as Ohio State football coach following months of mounting NCAA troubles

Ohio State accepted his resignation Monday after 10 seasons, a national title and a final scandal surrounding NCAA violations.

Gallery preview COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jim Tressel fought back tears while announcing his resignation to his Ohio State football team Monday morning, an illustrious coaching career undone less than three months after his NCAA violations were first made public.

Following 10 years with the Buckeyes, seven Big Ten titles, a 9-1 record against Michigan and a national championship, Tressel was chased from his job by the scandal around his failure to be truthful with his bosses and the mounting public pressure that came with it.

Members of the team Sunday night received messages to meet Monday morning and feared what the news would be, and they were right. Accompanied by Athletic Director Gene Smith, Tressel announced his time as the head of the OSU program had ended. Assistant coach Luke Fickell will serve as the interim coach for the 2011-12 season and the school will hold a full search for a new coach next year.

"He was hurting, and he was fighting it," said someone who was in the room for the announcement. "I couldn't look at him because I was hurting myself."

Smith, in a video released by Ohio State that served as his only official comment, said "our head football coach, Jim Tressel, has decided to resign." But multiple sources confirmed that the resignation came following pressure from above.

"It's an unfortunate situation. But in this day and age all of us have to pay for our mistakes," said John C. "Jack" Fisher, an OSU grad and member of the Ohio State Board of Trustees since 2006, who said the trustees had been working on this decision for a while. "There will be an impact but I think we will be ready to move. Overall, I think there will be a positive reaction. I am optimistic that we are dealing with this the right way."

OSU president Gordon Gee had appointed a special committee made up of some members of the board and other members of the administration to evaluate the situation facing the football program.

"In consultation with the senior leadership of the University and the senior leadership of the Board, I have been actively reviewing the matter and have accepted Coach Tressel's resignation," Gee wrote in a memo to Board members released by Ohio State. "My public statement will include our common understanding that throughout all we do, we are one University with one set of standards and one overarching mission. The University's enduring public purposes and its tradition of excellence continue to guide our actions."

Tressel's departure does not end Ohio State's issues, not by a long shot. But it does separate the school from one problem area. Both the coach and the school still face an Aug. 12 hearing before the NCAA Committee on Infractions. If he hopes to coach again one day, or if he just wants to attempt to defend his name, Tressel could appear at the hearing.

Ohio State is dealing with larger issues.

One expert on NCAA infractions said the committee should treat Ohio State more favorably because Tressel has departed, but a finding of a lack of institutional control by the athletic department as a whole could still lead to crippling sanctions if, as could be the case, more violations come to light. The Columbus Dispatch reported Monday that Ohio State and the NCAA have launched a separate investigation into quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

What's known is that Tressel, who had been earning about $3.7 million a year, is out at age 58 after compiling a 106-22 record over the last 10 years. OSU spokesman Jim Lynch said he was unaware about any possible settlement between Tressel and the university, but it's clear from his contract that his violations should allow his departure with cause with no further compensation.

"After meeting with university officials, we agreed that it is in the best interest of Ohio State that I resign as head football coach," Tressel wrote in his resignation letter to Smith, which was released by Ohio State. "The recent situation has been a distraction for our great university and I make this decision for the greater good of our school.

"The appreciation that [my wife] Ellen and I have for the Buckeye Nation is immeasurable. We have been blessed to work with the finest group of young men in America and we love them dearly. In addition, we cannot thank you enough. ... the high school coaches we have worked with over these many years.

"We know that God has a plan for us and we will be fine. We will be Buckeyes forever."

Six months ago, it seemed that would literally be the case, as Tressel and the program was flying high while preparing for the Sugar Bowl against Arkansas. They'd won a record-tying six straight Big Ten titles and Tressel was viewed by much of the Ohio State community as someone who exemplified everything right with the university, on and off the field.

Jole Harmon, who with her husband donated millions of dollars for a renovation of the football practice facility in large part because of their faith in Tressel, said Monday, "It's disappointing to see a man like Jim Tressel go out the way he has, in a less than honorable way, in a less than stellar way that I would have wished for, and frankly, it shocks me. But this is a good life lesson for kids. This is what happens when you don't fully tell the truth."

Harmon mentioned all the positives she believes Tressel brought to the program, but she supported the OSU administration and understood the need for Tressel to step aside. In an interview with The Plain Dealer last year, she had praised Tressel as someone she knew would never embarrass the university.

"Guess what? I'm never going to say that about anyone again in my life," Harmon said. "You pretty much can't say that about anybody."

That's because Tressel's reputation began to unravel on Dec. 23, when Ohio State announced in a news conference that six players had committed NCAA violations by receiving cash and discounted tattoos in exchange for memorabilia. Pryor and four others were suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season, and that was just the start.

As Tressel sat next to Smith in that news conference, the coach knew he had been alerted to potential violations involving his players and Columbus tattoo parlor Edward Rife in emails in April of 2010, information Tressel did not share with his bosses or the Ohio State compliance office, as required by his contract and NCAA rules. Ohio State discovered those emails in January and began an investigation in concert with the NCAA.

On March 8, a day after Tressel's violations were first reported by Yahoo Sports, Ohio State held a news conference to announce the violations and a two-game suspension and $250,000 fine for Tressel. The suspension was later lengthened to five games. But Gee and Smith backed Tressel unequivocally, with Gee uttering his infamous line, "I'm just hoping the coach doesn't dismiss me."

Before the start of spring practice at the beginning of April, Tressel said he hadn't thought of resigning, and would do it only if he felt it was best for his players. Less than three weeks ago, when asked if his thoughts had changed, Tressel said, "Why? Should they?" And at the Big Ten meetings two weeks ago, Smith reaffirmed his public support for Tressel.

Monday, that support ended. Ohio State lost its coach and Tressel lost his dream job. And that's just the start.

Cinesport video: Jim Tressel out at Ohio State