Jim Tressel has done little to tamp down rumors that he may vie for the presidency of the University of Akron, raising a host of questions about how the former Ohio State football coach might run an academic enterprise.
Would President Tressel close cabinet meetings with human hand stacks and cries of “Ready, Break!” If he raised a boatload of money, would trustees douse him with Gatorade?
The prospect of the former coach’s leading a university raises some serious questions, too, not the least of which is what sort of message Akron would send by hiring Mr. Tressel. He was forced out as the Buckeyes’ coach in 2011, as evidence mounted that Mr. Tressel knew about improper benefits provided to his players and failed to report the violations to the NCAA. Less than a year later, Mr. Tressel returned to Akron, his alma mater, where he now serves as a vice president with a broad portfolio that stretches across recruitment, admissions, and financial aid.
As vice president for student success, Mr. Tressel reports to Luis M. Proenza, who announced this month that he would retire as president in 2014. During a radio interview last week, Mr. Proenza said that Mr. Tressel would make a good president.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he might be considered,” Mr. Proenza said.
Mr. Tressel said in an interview on Tuesday that he had not had any conversations with trustees about pursuing the job but that he would consider it.
“If the board came to the conclusion that some of the experiences and skill sets that I have would lead to me being a candidate, of course I’d be flattered and interested,” he said. “On the other hand, if they feel doing what I’m doing now is the best position I can play for the team, I am completely fulfilled.”
NCAA Baggage
Mr. Tressel is a favorite son of Ohio, and his celebrity status has generated a level of national interest in Akron’s presidential search uncommon for the institution.
But it is not lost on the former coach that he would bring baggage to the top job. When asked if his rocky history with the NCAA could be a disqualifier for a presidency, Mr. Tressel said, “I’d like to think it’s not.”
“I would understand it” if some people objected, Mr. Tressel said. “That’s the beauty of the academy. We thrive on a variety of opinions and debate and discussion.”
Mr. Tressel’s transgressions were enough to convince E. Gordon Gee, who was president of Ohio State at the time, that the coach had to go. But when he heard talk that Mr. Tressel might be interested in the presidency at Akron, Mr. Gee wrote him a note, telling his former coach to seriously consider the possibility.
As for whether Mr. Tressel could be a credible proponent of NCAA compliance, Mr. Gee said, “that’s a very complex question” for Akron’s board to consider.
“That’s something anyone ought to ask,” Mr. Gee said. “But I think the other side of that is the fact that because he has had a history in that area, who better to understand the challenges of the NCAA? If you’ve been in the fire and been burned, you understand the consequences better than most.”
If Mr. Tressel were to become Akron’s president, two of the university’s most visible employees would be tied to past sports controversies. Terry Bowden, Akron’s head football coach, was at the center of an NCAA-related dispute more than a decade ago. In a report that Mr. Bowden still disputes, the Opelika-Auburn News said that Mr. Bowden had acknowledged being aware of a pay-for-play scheme at Auburn University when he was named head coach there, in 1993. But Mr. Bowden also said he had “put an end to it,” according to news reports that followed the Alabama newspaper’s article.
In an interview on Tuesday, Mr. Bowden questioned the authenticity of the tape recording that led to the Opelika-Auburn News’s report and denied wrongdoing.
“I made a concerted effort at Auburn at all times to follow the NCAA rules,” he said. “I didn’t break any rules at Auburn.”
Mr. Bowden said he could not comment on what sort of president Mr. Tressel might make, but he said he would have no concerns that Mr. Tressel would micromanage the football program. Both men say they have talked to each other only a half dozen times since they have been at Akron.
“Jim knows how to act like a head coach,” Mr. Bowden said, “and the last thing he would do would be to come and try to tell me how to X and O.”
Atypical Candidate
Mr. Tressel holds a master’s degree in education from Akron, but he lacks the traditional academic credentials of a college president. He has earned praise from Akron’s president and board for his work as an administrator, but for most of his career Mr. Tressel has viewed academe through the lens of a big-time college-football coach.
William D. Rich, chair of the Akron Faculty Senate, said he was ambivalent about the idea of Mr. Tressel as a president. He has done well in his new role as vice president, Mr. Rich said, and “it would be a mistake to stereotype him as just a jock.”
At the same time, Mr. Rich said he was concerned about the symbolism of naming an ex-football coach as president. There is a sense among the faculty that the university has spent a great deal on facilities, including a $61.6-million football stadium, while struggling with its basic mission, Mr. Rich said.
Akron, for example, has a six-year graduation rate of 41 percent, according to federal data.
“The focus really needs to be on academics,” said Mr. Rich, a law professor. “There is nothing to say that Tressel wouldn’t do that, but it’s not where you would naturally turn.”
Faculty members are given the opportunity to provide input for presidential hires at Akron, but the Board of Trustees, which does not include any professors, constitutes the search committee.
Lucy A. Leske, who assists colleges with presidential searches, said it was always a challenge for a candidate without a Ph.D. to get support from faculty members. But presidents with impeccable academic bona fides are not immune to upheaval.
“There are plenty of examples of those who came up through the traditional academic route and have been thrown out on their ears,” said Ms. Leske, managing partner and director of Witt/Kieffer’s Higher Education Practice.
When the NCAA handed down penalties at Ohio State, Mr. Tressel was slapped with a five-year “show cause” penalty, which effectively bans him from coaching until December 2016. Mr. Tressel, who is 60, says he does not plan to return to coaching and would not see a college presidency as a way to bide time. Nor does he view the top job at Akron as a chance to restore his reputation. To look at it that way, he said, would mean fixating on the past.
“I’ve never thought one minute,” Mr. Tressel said, “about redemption of any kind.”
