Jim Tressel: How the Ohio State Coaching Scandal Could Affect the Big Ten

The Jim Tressel scandal could end up not only costing Ohio State numerous amounts of money and wins, but it could also end up costing the Big Ten.

Although the news of serious wrongdoing by the Ohio State football program has been the focus of attention, who is the big loser here? 

The Big Ten.

Ohio State has had the most successful football programs in the conference for over a decade. In that time period, they have been at the for-front of national media attention and, at some points, have been the only thing for the conference to celebrate about.  

This scandal is a huge deal for the conference as well as the school.

Who is going to step up as the leader of the conference? Who is going to compete with Nebraska now that they have been added to the schedule?

This situation that was caused by the failure to abide by NCAA rules could end up costing not only Ohio State millions of dollars, but also the conference as a whole.

Even the Michigan fans out there should be concerned about these allegations. Although seeing their rival down might seem satisfying, think about how great that rivalry was when they were on the top.  

This whole situation is reminiscent of the Kelvin Sampson situation at Indiana just a few years back.

A program with a great history brought into the mud by a few bad people and bad decisions. We can only hope that Ohio State football is allowed to live on, and they are able to come back to life just as quick as Indiana Basketball has.

This is not only vital to the school, but as well as the conference. Ohio State is the face of the Big Ten, and right now, it's looking like the Big Ten needs some serious plastic surgery. 

James Evens serves as a National Featured Columnist for college football and basketball, as well as the FC for the Purdue Boilermakers.   Follow him on Twitter or like him on Facebook.