Jim Tressel finds his niche at University of Akron

Jim Tressel, seen in his office at the University of Akron, has been chosen president of Youngstown State University.

(Lisa DeJong, The Plain Dealer)

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Jim Tressel will be the next president of Youngstown State University.

YSU's board of trustees voted unanimously today to offer the position of president to Tressel, executive vice president for student success at the University of Akron.

The appointment is not final until contract terms can be reached, trustees said.

"After fully examining each and every candidate and reviewing the input from hundreds of individuals across the campus and the community, the Board of Trustees believes Mr. Tressel is the right individual at the right time to lead Youngstown State University," trustee chairman Sudershan Garg said in a press release. "Mr. Tressel has the personality and leadership skills, in addition to widespread community support, to dramatically raise YSU''s profile and prominence across Ohio and the nation."

Tressel returns to the Mahoning Valley and the institution where he coached football from 1986 to 2000.

Since then he coached at Ohio State University and spent two years in administration at UA.

Tressel, who told a forum at YSU that he never planned to coach football again, was also a finalist for president at the University of Akron.

Scott Scarborough, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Toledo, was named UA president on Thursday.

Tressel was not at the announcement at UA and was not on campus today. Officials did not know if he withdrew his name from consideration for the presidency there.

The other finalists at YSU were Mary Cullinan, president of Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon and Gary Miller, chancellor of the University of North Carolina- Wilmington.

YSU was forced to seek a new president after President Randy Dunn, after only seven months in the job, told the board of trustees in February he was resigning to become president of Southern Illinois University. He left the university at the end of March.

The trustees put the search on the fast track and when Tressel's name surfaced as a candidate community leaders promoted him for president. Tressel later applied for the position.

"While admittedly this is a very busy time in my professional life, it seems only right to see if the time and fit is right for the Tressels at Youngstown State," he said in his application letter.

His wife, Ellen, graduated from YSU, as did one of his sons.