Who is Jim Tressel? New Ohio lieutenant governor with a national championship background

Jim Tressel once coached Ohio State's football program to a national championship. Now, he's been nominated by Ohio governor Mike DeWine to be the Buckeye State's next lieutenant governor, transitioning from coaching to administration and now state politics.

DeWine spoke glowingly of Tressel on Monday.

"He has the requisite skill sets," DeWine said. "He has the criteria that I outlined. He knows Ohio. Jim Tressel, I trust his judgement. He is a born leader."

Tressel was born in Mentor, Ohio, on Dec. 5, 1952. He played college football at Baldwin-Wallace College for his father, Lee Tressel, who climbed to the college ranks after a successful coaching career at the high school level.

Tressel moved onto a similar career, assisting at Akron, Miami (OH), Syracuse, and Ohio State before becoming a head coach himself. Jim's elder brother, Dick Tressel, also played college football for his father.

Dick started his coaching career at Gibsonburg High School in 1971 and later served as the athletic director at Hamline from 1979 to 2000. He joined Jim Tressel in Ohio in 2001, serving as an assistant coach till 2011.

What has Jim Tressel accomplished?

Jim Tressel was Ohio State's head coach from 2001-10. Following a less-than-graceful exit from Columbus, he also served as the president at Youngstown State University, where he'd previously coached on the gridiron.

Tressel held the reins for the Penguins from 1986-2001. He won four Division I-AA national crowns with the program. He was introduced in his next position at a Buckeyes basketball game in 2001.

The coach's first season at Ohio State yielded a pedestrian 7-5 mark, but the team did knock over No. 11 Michigan on the road. The next season, Tressel helped lift the Buckeyes to their first national championship since 1968.

The Buckeyes posted a spotless 14-0 record that go-round, squeaking by seven opponents by seven points or fewer. In an overtime tilt in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Tressel's crew downed Miami, who had one of the most talented rosters in college football history.

Four other Ohio State teams reached the top spot in the Associated Press poll under Tressel, but none won a national championship. The Buckeyes reached the BCS national title game in 2006 and 2007 but lost both times.

He coached 10 consensus All-Americans, including passer Troy Smith, who also won the Heisman Trophy during his time in Columbus.

Tressel went 106-22-0 with Ohio State, guiding the program to eight BCS games during his 10-year tenure. However, the Buckeyes had their fair share of off-the-field issues with him in charge, namely the "Tattoogate" scandal that prompted his resignation. Still, Tressel sports a laundry list of achievements.