Jim Tressel Resigns: College Football, Its Commentators and the NCAA out of Sync

"After meeting with university officials, we agreed that it is in the best interest of Ohio State that I resign as head football coach," Tressel said in a statement released by the university.

Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee said the following about the resignation: "As you all know, I appointed a special committee to analyze and provide advice to me regarding issues attendant to our football program. In consultation with the senior leadership of the university and the senior leadership of the board, I have been actively reviewing the matter and have accepted coach Tressel's resignation."

Jim Tressel makes it 13-1. Since 2006, 14 head coaches have been sanctioned for violating NCAA Bylaw 10.1. All but one of these coaches were fired.

While Tressel resigned, his firing was inevitable. His fate was discussed at least over the weekend. Tressel avoided what was plainly the only course for Ohio State. Fire the coach and wait to see what else would come out of the current NCAA investigation of the Ohio State football program.

According to OSU's hometown newspaper The Columbus Dispatch, coaches are routinely fired when violating the same ethics bylaw as Tressel violated:

"Since 2006, the NCAA has sanctioned 28 schools for violating the ethics bylaw that Tressel did. Of the 13 head coaches involved, only one kept her job. The others either resigned or were fired by their schools."

The importance of this rule, and the reporting requirement placed on all coaches and others involved in the NCAA that requires a report to the NCAA of any infraction of NCAA rules, cannot be overemphasized.

Yet even more important is the need to keep everyone truthful. Without truthfulness, the entire process collapses into a meaningless catch-me-if-you-can game that allows all violations to proceed with impunity in the absence of chance or some other accidental discovery.

This is not what the NCAA is about. And if its rules are meant to be submerged "for the good of the team" or "for the good of the athletes involved," then there is nothing to the rules at all. Just some hodgepodge of meaningless tripe for those unfortunate enough to be caught.

This has long been the impression given both by programs caught in a web of deceit and violations and by the administrators and coaches involved, that the NCAA is without teeth and without substance. That the schools involved are more desirous of making light of serious situations rather than facing and imposing proper penalties first, before they are required to do so.

Thus it is with Jim Tressel. He lied. He hid infractions. And he put himself, his sweater and his vest before the team and university.

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney put it this way.

"Since Ohio State discovered and received information indicating possible violations in its football program in December 2010, it has consistently reported the information in a timely and collaborative way to the NCAA. The Big Ten Conference regards this approach as fundamental and necessary and has confidence that Ohio State will continue in this manner with regard to any newly discovered or reported information.

"Coach Jim Tressel has made positive contributions to Ohio State and its student athletes during his tenure. He has also acknowledged making a serious mistake and his resignation today is an indication that serious mistakes have serious consequences."

From the looks of this one, the Big Ten was as much a part of this decision as the university itself. In fact, when the news of all the facts finally surfaced this year, Delaney said he would have treated Ohio State's eligibility to represent the Big Ten in the Fiesta Bowl differently had he known of all the facts, which he did not. And the reason he did not was Jim Tressel. Tressel's lies and deceit gamed the whole system.

We know why Tressel resigned. He was not a good guy. Not a standup guy. Not someone who wanted to do the best for the team and his players. He was instead a cheater. Perhaps not someone who has illegally recruited players. But someone who is supposed to teach his players good character by example instead ended up teaching them that loyalty is better than the truth.

That someone who lies about what happened, someone who tries to trick the system and get away with it, is better than someone who comes clean.

The way the administrators stood by Tressel until the very end is a sad indictment of college sports and particularly college football. That, even after Tressel admitted he lied and cheated his way into the Fiesta Bowl and his wins during the 2010 college football season, Ohio State's president and athletic director stood behind Tressel with undying support for him as coach and for his character, speaks volumes of the mess in college sports today. 

The resignation of Jim Tressel follows on the heels of another similar situation involving Bruce Pearl, Tennessee's head basketball coach. Pearl lied. The University of Tennessee stood behind him, and then fired him when it became impossible to go on.

This is not what our universities should be doing. Standing behind a liar and cheat shows little moral character. It certainly does not disclose the proper character of an institution of higher learning, a state university whose funds have made these coaches the highest paid employees of the states involved.

The problem with the character of all those supporting lying coaches is absolutely clear. None are unblemished at this point. And they have besmirched their own employer, their institution of higher learning for something much more base and abysmal.

Now that Tressel is gone, commentators have had an opportunity to call out Tressel for his wrongful acts. Instead, almost to a person, commentators have merely heaped praise on Tressel as if his success on the football field was more important than his character.

Brent Mussberger, who, starting in 2006, has called ABC Sports' college football primetime series along with Kirk Herbstreit, was one of the first interviewed about Tressel's resignation. His commentary is an example.

According to Mussberger, the coverup, which Musburger incorrectly said stemmed from a December 2010 affidavit that Tressel knew of no NCAA violations by his players (it actually happened in September), was the worst part of the situation.

Musburger actually claimed that the concealment before Tressel made the false affidavit was acceptable. The conclusion one draws from his commentary is that keeping everything from Ohio State was fine. The bad part was not disclosing the problem when Tressel had to make the disclosure.

This is not only incorrect; it stands both contractual and NCAA obligations on their head.

The cover-up started not with the affidavit, but long before. As soon as Tressel got the phone call about the violations, he was required both by contract and NCAA rule to notify his university.

He did not.

And he suffered the consequences. Nothing more needed to be said.

If anyone is more out of sync than Mussberger, the voice of college football and the NCAA, it may be the administrators themselves. Any administrator whose first reaction is to keep his coach is doing everyone a disservice.

Whether out of loyalty to successful coaches or out of some sense of protection, reactions that initially support coaches despite clear violations of contracts and obvious lying are wholly inappropriate.

The NCAA needs to either develop a requirement that its rules be clearly protected from lying, or the whole system will eventually be done in. The NCAA should come out and make it clear that lying to its investigators and others about known conduct is sufficient to require an immediate statement that the institution involved does not condone lying or cheating and will not tolerate any of it from any coach no matter the level. And make it a rule that the coach will be suspended or even banned from the NCAA if the coach lies.

In the end, this is the most important lesson for those who are inclined to lie. You will not be allowed to stay and will be expelled from the NCAA. Any less sends the wrong signal to the next potential liar. We need certainty as to approach, not forgiveness. The time for tolerance is long past.