The Ohio State football program has had some great coaches in its history. Those coaches are a massive reason why the Buckeyes are so successful as a program. Some of the most legendary names in the entire sport have coached for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Woody Hayes is the most iconic coach in program history. Paul Brown was the first great coach and helped the Buckeyes win their first national championship. Both of those coaches are immortalized in the Shoe. They are honored as the best coaches of all-time.
Jim Tressel is a coach that the Buckeyes had who deserved a similar kind of honor. He helped Ohio State win its first national title in three decades. He was beloved by the fans in a way no coach has been since. Now, he is finally getting the recognition he deserves.
The Ohio State football program will honor Jim Tressel during the season opener
Ohio State announced that Tressel will be honored forever during the season opener against Ball State. In that game, his name will be unveiled inside the shoe to be immortalized forever. He will actually be placed right alongside Hayes, which is the proper place to put him.
.@LtGovJimTressel taking it all in for the Ohio Stadium Ring of Honor Surprise 🌰 🥹 pic.twitter.com/E6NtE6WnqG
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) June 23, 2026
Tressel's relationship with the university was strained a bit after the Tattoogate scandal forced the university to fire him. That scandal will forever be looked at as the most overrated and overblown scandal in the history of college sports. It was at the time it was happening, too.
Since then, Tressel has come back to help Ryan Day a lot as he leads the current program. He is still involved in the university, although he has a prominent position in the Ohio state government. His accomplishments as the head coach for the Buckeyes will now be put up in the Shoe for all to see.
Ohio State should have honored Jim Tressel years ago
The first time that the university made an attempt to honor Tressel was back in 2012, during the 10-year anniversary of the 2002 national championship team. I was in the stands when the team was honored between quarters. The players carried Tressel off the field because of how much they and the fans loved him.
It shouldn't have taken the university this long to officially honor Tressel. He is a great man and deserved some formal praise long before this. I guess credit has to be given to the university and to Ross Bjork for finally letting this happen. It's better late than never, I guess.
The crowd will certainly give Tressel a long ovation when he is honored on September 5th. It will be a fun game to watch because the Buckeyes are going to trounce the Cardinals. Add in Tressel's honor, and this game has become a lot more interesting on the schedule.
Day has a few more things that he needs to accomplish before he could possibly dream of getting a similar honor. He needs to get a winning record against Michigan for starters.
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