Ohio State to enshrine Jim Tressel in ring of honor Sept. 5 - ESPN

Former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel will be enshrined in the Ohio Stadium Ring of Honor when the team opens the 2026 season Sept. 5 against Ball State.

Tressel, who coached Ohio State from 2001 to 2010 and led the Buckeyes to a national title in 2002, will join Woody Hayes and Paul Brown as the only Buckeyes coaches to appear in the ring of honor, which lines the C-deck at the stadium. He will be the first person to be enshrined since 2014, when Ohio State recognized his former quarterback Troy Smith, the 2006 Heisman Trophy winner. Tressel's placard will appear next to that of Hayes, who led Ohio State from 1951 to 1978.

Tressel, who is 73, became lieutenant governor of Ohio in early 2025. He went 106-23 at Ohio State with six Big Ten titles and a 9-1 record against archrival Michigan (his final win in 2010 was later vacated by the NCAA). A College Football Hall of Fame inductee in 2015, he also won four Division I-AA national titles as Youngstown State's coach from 1986 to 2000.

At Ohio State, he coached 67 NFL draft picks, including 14 first-round selections, and 24 first-team All-Americans. Ohio State surprised Tressel with the ring of honor selection Tuesday at an event attended by several of his former Buckeyes players.

«Growing up in Ohio, Ohio Stadium was about as special a place as there could be for a Buckeye fan,» Tressel said in a statement. «Then, when you have the privilege of spending so many years on the field as a coach, you never really think about something like this. You just try to honor the tradition, respect the responsibility that comes with it, and do your very best each day. I grew up admiring Paul Brown and Woody Hayes, and they both meant so much to our family. To be recognized alongside these