The Man, the Vest, the Legend...Coach Jim Tressel

Across the heartland of Ohio, there's no denying the transformative power of Coach Jim Tressel. A man who didn't just carve out football legends, but also shaped life trajectories on and off the green turf. This episode is all about  Coach Tressel's unique style and philosophy, infusing him with resilience, faith, and the power to face any 'third and one' moments in his life.

Every risk we take in life is a 'third and one' scenario. A life-changing moment where we either crumble or rise to the occasion. Coach Tressel and I journey through the anatomy of these moments, recounting a time in his life when he was unsure of his personal game plan. This conversation also steers towards unexpected blessings, like his tenure at Youngstown University that granted his wife precious time with her ailing parents.

Finally, we take a detour to discuss Coach Tressel's knack for sweater vests, a style statement that's earned him the endearing nickname, "The Senator". We then pivot towards the importance of surrounding oneself with the right people, a lesson Cameron learned well under Coach Tressel's guidance. The episode wraps up with a peek into Coach Tressel's coaching tree, his legacy carried forward by his proteges. Then, in a heartwarming moment, Coach Tressel shares five songs that resonate deeply with him. So, tune in for this engaging chat that straddles the worlds of football, life, faith, and resilience.

BIO
Coach Tressel  went to Youngstown State University in 1986 as head football coach. In 15 years, including six as executive director of Intercollegiate Athletics, YSU appeared in the playoffs 10 times and won four national championships.

In January 2001, Tressel left YSU to become head football coach at Ohio State University. In 10 seasons, he guided the Buckeyes to the 2002 National Championship and seven Big Ten Championships.  After leaving Ohio State, Tressel served as executive vice president for Student Success at the University of Akron, and then returned to YSU in 2014 as president.

Among his many honors: Chevrolet National Coach of the Year, the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, the American Football Coaches Association National Coach of the year. He was inducted into Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015. At YSU, he received the Heritage Award in 2008 and was inducted into the YSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013. He was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

Coach Tressel has had extensive involvement in fund raising and philanthropy, including the recent $1 million gift to create the Jim and Ellen Tressel Student Work Opportunity Endowment Fund at YSU.

Coach Tressel and Ellen are the proud parents of four accomplished adults and 2 grandchildren.

Social Media/Contact:
Twitter - @JimTressel5
Email - JTYSUOSU@gmail.com
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Host - Charlotte Heyward-Wesley
Producer - Millie Phaeton

Every Down Has a Story...

Transcript

Charlotte 0:32

Thanks for joining me today on my first episode of it's Third in One. I'm so excited about this new chapter and about the candid conversations I'm going to have with my guests. When I thought of who I wanted to have as my first guest, I knew this person would be the one. I was just hoping that they would accept my invitation. This person is none other than Coach Jim Tressel. We had a great conversation and I can't wait to share it with you.

Charlotte 1:06

I'd like to thank our sponsor, jensers Pittsburgh. If you're a Pittsburgh sports fan like me and you're always looking for the perfect jersey, unique gift or something for the next game, jensers is the place to shop. You see, with their great staff and amazing inventory, not only will you leave with something special, you'll leave with a memory. Jensers, it's not just a store, it's an experience. Check out our show notes for the it's Third in One promotion.

Charlotte 1:40

Hello and welcome to it's Third in One. I am nervous, I am excited and I am honored to have my guest, coach Jim Tressel, with us today. I first have to share that he was so important in our family's life that I don't think he knows. Cameron was the first of my children to be recruited, and to be recruited at such a high level. It was pretty intimidating and there was a lot of pressure. We did it recruiting a little bit different because Cameron was playing basketball at the time and he wanted to push it off. I would get these texts from coaches like is he mad at me? Or yeah, but I never got that from Coach Tressel and Coach Fickle and Coach Haines, who were all very important in his recruiting. What we were going through, having just lost Cameron's dad, it was a really hard time for our family to know that my oldest was going to be going off to college. We really wanted to make a good decision, not just about football but about his life going forward. I wasn't sure what was going on with Ohio State at the time that they were recruiting Cameron.

Charlotte 3:05

We took an unofficial to come see you. I met a fan on the street who was not a football fan but she was walking to the Shottenstein Center to watch the game and she didn't like football. She said she loved you for who you were. I said this is huge for a non-football fan to be going to go watch a game in a arena, not even in the stadium, just because she loved who you were as a person. That meant so much to me. That gave a level of comfort just in the beginning.

Charlotte 3:42

On our trip there was the big Michigan game. To see those fans never sit down. I watched you on the field. Yeah, you get upset at times, but you're not one of those guys that goes crazy, and more and more I was like this is a good fit, but I'm going to let Cameron choose. I had some pretty good questions when I went in and I talked to coaches. Coach Haycock explained to me how he was going to play Cameron all over the line to teach him different techniques to get him ready if he was to go to that next level. I was so impressed that there was no pressure. When we walked into your beautiful office, you ultimately said this is where I want to retire, because that was important to me. It was safe for my son to come and be a student athlete there, but to grow as a young man. I remember you saying I want my young men to come here and be better fathers, better husbands, better sons, better people when they leave here.

Jim Tressel 4:48

When you guys came in, we knew it was a special family and we also knew that not every family is the perfect fit and that we weren't going to change who we were and it wasn't going to be just about football. We wanted to be good in football. There's no doubt Ours was really a course on life rather than a course on football, and that doesn't resonate with everyone, but not every family looked at it the way that you guys did. You wanted Cam to grow and you wanted him to be loved. You wanted him to be challenged and you wanted to make sure that all the phases of his life were engaged, whether it's academics, football, his morals, his values, his willingness to go make a difference to others.

Jim Tressel 5:39

Those families were the ones that we ended up having a connection with and it was such a blessing. That's why I was kind of giddy this morning when I was like I want my favorite families in the world. I get to be on a podcast and talk about life and you know how special your family is and I am, and Allie and everybody that it was. You count your blessings as you went through life, being around the Hayward family one of my many blessings.

Charlotte 6:10

I thank you for that. What is the book called that you send the young men, once they sign their letter of intent, to prepare them?

Jim Tressel 6:18

The Winners Manual.

Charlotte 6:19

Yes, your Winners Manual. We still have your Winners Manual and it's something that none of my other children received being something like that. When they signed their letters of intent to play sports, I was so impressed with the book clubs, you know. It was just an experience that Cameron truly grew. He was gonna put that work in. I knew that he grew as a young man.

Jim Tressel 6:47

People ask me all the time. You know, when you get old they ask you like what was the best, this or that? And they always ask what was the best victory or whatever. And I always tell them the best victory is when I see the players when they're 35 and they're 40, and I see the kind of husbands they've become and the kind of fathers and kind of men, the kind of community members. That's the greatest victory. Those other things you know. The trophies get dust and the winds become trivia. You know, like well in 2008 or you know whatever, but Right, what they become as a man, that lasts forever.

The Impact of Third and One

Charlotte 7:26

Very true how you stated. That was perfect, because everybody's looking for that big championship. Everybody's looking to say you know, I have this many you know things attached to my name, but that doesn't matter. What matters is how you affect people and, in your community, helping someone less fortunate. I'm just proud, just very proud of him and I'm proud of my other sons. Thank you for everything. And now let's get started talking about. You know life in general. How are you? You just retired as the president of Youngstown State University. How are you doing?

Jim Tressel 8:07

You know I'm doing well. I had 48 years in higher education and whether it was as the head coach at Youngstown State or Ohio State or the president at Youngstown State, those were seven day a week jobs. That was just. You know what you signed up for. And so you know, 48 years of that's plenty and it's time to be available for our own children and our grandchildren, but also for the Cam Haywords or the Will Allens or the Ryan Cheese ears or the you know whomever, because I want to be a little bit more available to just marvel in what they're doing. And so so many people. I've kind of flunked retirement. I haven't really retired because I'm still going seven days a week and you know my goal in life is to be helpful and I've become a little more helpful. But you know I can't be more blessed than we are. And I was so excited when I saw the title of your podcast being third and one because really the turning point of our program at Ohio State was what we talked about as fourth and one. Which one yard to go, whether it's, you know, whether it's stop them or get that yard.

Jim Tressel 9:22

And in our first year we didn't have a great year at Ohio State. We were six and four going into the Michigan game and I received a letter from an old coaching friend who had been a contemporary of my father. He was Fred Martinelli. He was the coach at Ashland University and used to play against my dad's teams at Baldwin Wallace College. And he sent me a letter before that Michigan game and he said you know, life comes down to fourth and one. And he said and so will this game against Michigan. And he said whether it's a moment where you have to stop them and they need one yard, or that's a moment where you need to gain a yard and you can't let them stop you. And so during the week I read that to the team. I said you know this coach, I respect, you know he's amazing. And he said you know, whether it's a game or life, it comes down to fourth and one. And talked a little bit about it. And well, all of a sudden we're playing up at Michigan and we're up seven to nothing and they were highly favored. I think they were eight or nine or nine to one or something, but anyway.

Jim Tressel 10:29

And we were about third and 13,. Third and 14 back around the 35 yard line and we threw a little pass out to Chris Gamble and Chris caught it and made a good cut up the field, but he ended up a yard short. You know, we're up seven, nothing, we're at midfield. So normally what you do to be safe is, you know, you pun it down and so forth. And I heard a voice from behind me saying coach, you told us that fourth and one is what it's all about. Go for it. And I'm thinking, oh my goodness gracious, we're at the midfield. What happens if they stop us? All those things go through your mind. I said, okay, let's go, let's go for it. And so we lined up and fourth and one, and we ran the play and went for a touchdown.

Charlotte 11:19

Wow.

Jim Tressel 11:20

We ended up winning the game and it really turned the belief of our program around. You know that we had talked about what was important, that fourth and one. You're gonna face a fourth and one in your life. You're gonna face one in that game. You're gonna face a third and one in life, and it's how you handle that situation. And so when I title, I thought, oh my gosh, the memories that I was so excited. And but anyway, I'll quit rambling.

Charlotte 11:51

No, that's a great story. But even talking about that right, why I chose third and one is because there's more third and ones in games than fourth and ones. That's right.

Charlotte 12:03

Because a lot of people don't even get to that fourth and one. That's right, that's right. So I wanted it to relate to people Like we all have a ton of third and ones in our life, right? That's a great story and I'm gonna always remember that. I'm gonna share that with Kim, because when I told him the name of the podcast, he said to me he said well, mom, why aren't you doing fourth and one? And I said well, a lot of times you don't even get to that fourth down to say you wanna go for it at fourth and one. But we do have a lot of third and one. So that's why I chose it. And he said, oh, okay, so he has his podcast, I have mine.

Jim Tressel 12:37

Yeah, that's awesome. Well, you had asked me in advance to be thinking about what was my third and one, and it's interesting when you're a hundred years old, like I am. I've probably had a lot of third ones throughout life, but I thought I'd share a little bit. Maybe the most recent one and maybe the most impactful, and that's when we end up leaving Ohio State and I'd been coaching for 38 years. I knew nothing else. My father coached his whole life and I grew up.

Jim Tressel 13:10

Every day of my life was around coaching and all of a sudden, you know, I'm third in one. What am I going to do? Am I going to make it? Isn't that what third one's all about? Am I going to make it Right, right, or am I going to stop them?

Jim Tressel 13:26

And I remember my mentor who and Cam might remember him he was an old retired English professor from Georgia Southern University and he was probably at the time in his mid-80s. I remember him saying to me, as we were leaving Ohio State, he said you do know that the greatest impact you'll have is ahead of you. See, I wasn't feeling it, you know. At that point, you know I was at the greatest place in the world being the coach. We were having a wonderful time, we were hopefully making a difference in kids' lives and he's telling me that my greatest impact is ahead of me.

Lessons on Faith and Resilience

Jim Tressel 14:10

I just it was a tough third one. Then he followed it up by saying it will be the greatest impact you've ever had if you believe it will. And that was really a challenge to me. It's like you know your third one you're going to make it. If you believe you will Stop them, if you believe you will, because everything's designed for success, but you have to believe that you'll do it. And that really gave me the impetus to make sure that my next chapter was more impactful. I had no idea I'd end up being a president of a university where I used to have a hundred guys. Now I have 12,000, and all the different things that you can impact on. But that third one where he challenged me, he said regardless of how you feel right now, regardless of the circumstance you're in, you have to believe that your greatest impact is going forward. And that, to me, was quite a third one.

Charlotte 15:16

So you stayed on the offense.

Jim Tressel 15:19

That's right.

Charlotte 15:19

Right. You kept moving forward to get that extra yard Because and you can look at it two ways because everything was coming at you the media, you know the football world, your comfort in life because, like you said, you've been coaching 38 years and the fact that you made that pivot, you know, had a different game plan that you weren't even aware of, but you believed it. That mentor shared with you, believing yourself. You have so many people that are going through career changes or you know, a major life change that they're not prepared for, because this came out of the blue and, honestly, if it happened now, you'd still be at Ohio State. The things that have happened in college sports these last I say five to seven years have been amazing.

Charlotte 16:19

I was so disheartened I just said, wow, that university and those young men are losing a great man and a great family to know that you continued on to make an impact and I even have read that you know you raised the enrollment at Youngstown State which was struggling and you have stepped in and created programs and, you know, really made it a better university You're leaving it better than when you came and that impact that you made there. I'm sure you didn't see that going forward, but you just had to believe that you were there for a reason.

Jim Tressel 17:01

Well, and you know, having grew up in Pittsburgh, that the Youngstown area had its struggles when we lost the steel mills and tough times that we were kind of a one horse town. Steel was all we had. It's a little more diverse, you know they had more industries than, and so being able to go and help Youngstown feel better about itself, build up the campus physically, as you say, work on programs that could make a difference, but you know, god is good in that, not only the professional part of that third one, but little did we know that Ellen was going to get a chance to spend every day for the three and a half years the last three and a half years of both of parents, in the nursing home right there in Youngstown.

Charlotte 17:51

No.

Jim Tressel 17:51

We were in Columbus, that would have been impossible.

Charlotte 17:56

Right.

Jim Tressel 17:57

And so when you face your third one, sometimes you wonder why it's third one. You just have to go and convert or stop them, whichever side you're on, and you know, have that faith that you're in third one for a reason.

Charlotte 18:12

That's a great way to look at it. Everything in this world I know, this is what I believe, and I tell my children that, and my friends if they're going through something, or my husband. Everything happens for a reason.

Jim Tressel 18:24

Right, sound like Ellen. She says that every day.

Charlotte 18:27

Yeah, oh, I mean, everything happens for a reason and you don't know at that time. Sometimes it's six months, sometimes it's six years later, sometimes it's 10 years later. I look at a situation myself. I lost my father when I was 10 years old and I always wondered you know, I was young. Why did I lose my dad so young? I had a wonderful stepfather who was like my father, but then my children lost their father young and I was able to relate to them. I ended up raising other children who weren't mine. I think there's been about 10 kids that have come through our home and you know, who have either lost a parent or had a parent not be in their life as actively as they should. Everything happens for a reason and he has a plan. That's right.

Charlotte 19:22

I trust his plan. So that makes me in comfort when I'm going through any type of turmoil or when I'm talking to a friend who's gone through something. So I thank you for sharing that, and especially the part about Ellen, because it's so true she would not have been able to see her parents those last three years, and you know, because being the wife of a coach is not an easy job.

Jim Tressel 19:49

That's right, do we have time for one more story?

Charlotte 19:52

Do I love third and one stories.

Jim Tressel 19:54

Okay, so this was a third, and one in a different way. So it was December and I can't remember what year, somewhere in there 09 or 10, right in there and I was in Fort Wayne, indiana, and we were out recruiting and I'd gotten up early in the morning and it was snowing out and I had my suitcase with me and I had my top coat on and I was carrying my briefcase and I just opened the door to leave the hotel room go to the high school. We were going to see the young man and the phone rang and it said Charlotte. And all of a sudden I got nervous because it was right after Cam's junior year, everyone was Cam was going out early to the NFL and my posture with that, with the guys, was, if that's what they wanted to do, I certainly didn't want to stand in their way, but I obviously would welcome them if they would stay and it was up to them. And everyone knew he was going to be a first round draft choice.

Cam's Decision and Coach Tress' Quirks

Jim Tressel 20:59

And so the phone rang and it's Charlotte and I thought, oh no, she's calling. So nice to call, but she's calling to tell me he's going out early to the NFL. So I took, just like you do on third and one, right, you take it. And I said good morning, and I'll never forget. You said I don't care what you're reading, what you're hearing, cam is not going out early, he's finishing his degree, so don't listen to that nonsense. And it was like wow, now I'm carrying all this stuff, I drop it. I wanted to hug someone, but no one was around. Then you said but the real reason I called, you need to talk to Bradley Roby.

Jim Tressel 21:45

I remember that and I said well, bradley Roby committed to Vanderbilt. And you said did you not hear what I said? You need to talk to Bradley Roby, he's interested in Ohio State and the rest is history. Bradley became a first round pick.

Charlotte 22:00

Well, there's a lot of components to this story here. So, todd, let's deal with the cam thing first. Right, all these agents. And he would say don't talk to me, talk to my mom, because he really didn't want to go. I didn't want him to go, but it was going to be his choice Because I always felt your degree is more important. You're here for a reason and I know, when you become an athlete, life speeds up, you're an adult and you're hit with a lot of things. I wanted him to have another year, to be a kid, a young man, and to enjoy college. He was adamant, because your roles then were to be a captain. You had to be a senior and he wanted to be a captain at Ohio State. That was his dream. He said I want to be a captain, I don't want to leave and I'm not ready to leave, but first and foremost, I want to get my degree and be a captain in Ohio State. So we got his draft grades. They said, yes, he would be a first round pick. The agent that he has now was the one agent who I said just give me his draft grade so we know, and then please don't contact us again. He was the only one that did that, michael Parrot, and that's why he's his agent today.

Charlotte 23:26

We had come up for the banquet Camps Junior year and Cochains had mentioned to me do you know Bradley, roby? He said I know he committed. I said yeah, he committed, but he's kind of wavering a little bit. He said, oh yeah, just here, he's a great kid. And I said he is. I know you had a role. Then. Unless you met a kid, you couldn't offer a kid or recruit him. You didn't even know him, right, bradley. He's like one of my other sons and his mom, betty's one of my best friends and he just would say I just love this school. He had come up for the camp and I said is your heart really there? And I knew there were things going on at Vanderbilt. The Cochin did a believing that year, but he always says if it wasn't for you, just call and coach. Trust me, and please take a look at this kid. He loved Ohio State, betty loved Ohio State and you made a difference in his life too.

Jim Tressel 24:26

So we thank you. Betty is awesome.

Charlotte 24:30

Isn't she? That's my travel buddy, betty tells it like it is. Yes, yeah, yeah, it's funny. The people you meet in the sports world, we all put our pants on the same way. We're all relatable that when we share these third and one stories, you just never know what's going to happen in life. Right, just keep pushing forward.

Jim Tressel 24:54

It's interesting there aren't as many third ones as there are first and tens. Ones are more impactful. If you looked at a college football practice schedule, you knew by NCAA rules we could only practice two hours and this and that, and I'm sure the NFL has certain hourly requirements, and so you had to decide what you were going to work on. Well, certainly you worked on first and ten a lot, because there were a lot of first and tens, but you probably worked more on the third ones because you knew their impact on the game. And it's the same thing in life when times are going good and it's first and ten. Yeah, there's lots of first and tens, but we need to prepare ourselves for the third ones and it takes a lot of faith and preparation and surrounding yourself with the right people and thinking the right things and reading the right things. And preparation for third and one is what life is all about, and it takes certain attention to make sure you're ready for third and one.

Charlotte 26:02

That's another way to look at it. You have to be prepared. We never know what life's going to throw at you. I'm not a pessimist. I try to look at the glass half full because something is happening for a reason. So I appreciate you sharing that. Yeah, first and ten. Yeah, there's a lot of first and tens, but there's a lot of preparation that goes into that third and one. So let's lighten it up here. We've told some really good stories and we are a little different. I like to wash clothes every day. I think that's a good thing. People think that's a little strange, but I like to fold, I like to dry, I like to do all that kind of stuff. Is there anything you can share with us that's a little bit different, that we wouldn't know about, coach Truss.

Jim Tressel 26:46

Well, I had mentioned when I was talking a little bit to Millie that some people think it's quirky that I wear sweater best so often. In fact, it's amazing how many sweater bests I have, because a lot of times, everywhere I go to speak or whatever, inevitably they present me with their sweater best, whether it's the name of a company or a school or a church or whatever, and so I've got hundreds and hundreds of sweaters. In fact, I have a sweater best on right now, and so some people think that's kind of quirky. In fact, they kind of nicknamed me the senator because I looked like, you know, I was buttoned up or whatever. So that was kind of quirky. Now I know the other thing that tears would laugh often is and they thought it was quirky is that whenever I remind them that nothing good happens past 10, constantly and then I'd see them later on in life and they would say, oh yeah, coach, I remember nothing good happens past midnight I said no, no, no, no. I said nothing good happens past 10. Yes, but 10, you know.

Charlotte 27:49

And I love that.

Jim Tressel 27:51

They thought that was a little quirky, but I still go back to. Data shows that when problems occur, they usually occur past 10.

Charlotte 27:59

This is true. If only these college students could believe that. But you know.

Jim Tressel 28:05

I worked 48 years with college students. There's two things I couldn't I didn't do a good job convincing them of. One was that nothing good happens past 10. And the other was you really do need to sleep.

Charlotte 28:19

Yes.

Jim Tressel 28:20

You know, go 19, 20 hours a day, but you do need to sleep, whether it's to be a good student, to be a good player, to be a good friend, to keep good health. But that 18 to 22-year-old group, they don't realize it right off the bat.

Charlotte 28:39

Well, first of all, the sweater vests. You wear them well, you look great. In fact, I'm looking at you and you look the same. I mean, I can't believe that you're 70 years old.

Jim Tressel 28:54

I made it.

Charlotte 28:55

I mean you look great and you wear your sweater vests. You're known for your sweater vests. When I see like little bobbleheads of you or anything, it has the sweater vest on it. It's your signature look. I mean it's casual. You can. You know it's a little warm outside, but you don't have a sweater on. You have a sweater vest on. If it's cold outside, you've got a vest on to protect you. I mean it's the perfect attire and you get free ones now.

Jim Tressel 29:27

That's right. Tons of them.

Charlotte 29:29

And to say nothing happens good past 10,. Hey, I had a curfew for my kids. They still sometimes abide by it when they come back home and I'm like you're adults now, you don't have to do that, and they're like we just respect your home. I just, you know, I was like well, there's nothing good happening after 12 o'clock, so I think you guys should be in and they'd complain and you know. But I didn't want to hear the alarm going off, I didn't want to be worried. And they got to college and a lot of them said we would get tired around 12 o'clock. We were thought we were used to being home at that time. It's like good habits, I don't know.

Jim Tressel 30:09

Well, I can tell you this I had a lot of guys and every day wasn't perfect, but I can remember zero days where there was ever a problem with Cam.

Charlotte 30:20

Oh, thank you.

Coaching Tree and Meaningful Songs

Jim Tressel 30:21

Zero days. I mean not even, not even. But the only thing that he did was you remember Marcus Freeman who played for us out of the head coach at Notre Dame? Cam and Marcus Freeman during one of the games. After Cam made a sack or got a fumble recovery or something, he did one of those chest bumps. Cam knocked his teeth out. To this day we always tease Marcus that there was smiles. We say yeah, we know those are new, because Cam knocked the other two out.

Charlotte 30:54

Now can you count Marcus as part of your coaching tree?

Jim Tressel 30:59

Oh yeah, he was a grad assistant and we kind of have the Great Lakes surrounded. Pj Fleck was a grad assistant for us and he's at Minnesota as the head coach, and then you have Lucas up at Wisconsin, you have Marcus is at Notre Dame, and then you have Mel Tucker who's at Michigan State. So we've got the Great Lakes surrounded.

Charlotte 31:20

We still are close friends with Coach Fickle. I did know PJ Fleck, but I know the other three, so you do have a great coaching tree.

Jim Tressel 31:28

I think PJ was there the year before Cam came.

Charlotte 31:34

With all my travels with my kids in sports. I used to drive a lot. My friends say I have Christmas pretty good Playlist, but I'm always looking for new songs to add. Can you share with us some songs that have resonated for you for some type of reason or another?

Jim Tressel 31:51

Well, first of all, I don't know how to create a playlist you know that technology-wise but I can tell you five songs that have some meaning and then, if I could create a playlist and I knew how to, I would put them on a playlist. So the one that Ellen and I love hearing when we're together and so forth, is Proud to Be an American by Lee Greenwood, and especially here in this Memorial Weekend, and we're so blessed to live in this country, so that's one of our favorites. The second I would say is my Wish by Rascal Flats, and the reason that's my daughter and I. That was our father daughter song at her wedding and that's a special one, and the Rascal Flats are from Columbus, so we knew that. I didn't know that.

Jim Tressel 32:39

Yeah, we knew them pretty well, and so that would be my second one. My third one would be White Christmas. Bing Crosby was my mom. She loved Bing Crosby, and my mom and I would watch that White Christmas movie every year after my father passed. You know, I'm dreaming of a White Christmas every time I cry, so that would be on my playlist.

Jim Tressel 33:02

And then I was saying, as Millie and I were talking a little bit, I was saying everyone right today is thinking about Tina Turner, and so the one that became, to my mind, was simply the best you know. So that would be my fourth one. Then my fifth one I'm trying to remember. Oh, I know we are the champions is what I mentioned. Because when we came to Youngstown State in 1986, we set our goal that we're going to be the national champions. Someday we're going to be the national champions. Well, it took us five years when we finally became the national champions, and then those kids played that song. You know they've been waiting to play that song and so that has a special memory, or so again, I don't know how to make a playlist, but if I did, that would be on my playlist.

Charlotte 33:52

Good songs and each one had a different meaning. So with your daughter in Rascal Flats, they're a country group, yeah Right, my kids have played some of their songs so I thought they were from Tennessee or down south. I didn't know. They were from Columbus.

Jim Tressel 34:09

Gary Lee Vox is the lead singer and he's from Columbus. And then there's three of them in Rascal Flats, two from Columbus and one was actually from Oklahoma. So there is one Southern flavor. But they've acted Columbus quite a bit and do charity fundraisers and things like that and they're neat guys.

Charlotte 34:30

In your story career you have won national championships. You've won eight big 10 championships, correct?

Jim Tressel 34:40

Seven.

Charlotte 34:40

Seven, but you've beat Michigan eight times.

Jim Tressel 34:43

Nine times yeah.

Charlotte 34:44

Nine times, ok, ok. I don't know where I'm getting the eight number of OK Nine times. And you've been inducted to Hall of Fame. Was there one Hall of Fame that meant the most to you?

Jim Tressel 34:56

Without a doubt, the College Football Hall of Fame. Only because my father was in the College Football Hall of Fame and then when we were inducted. Now we're the only father and son in the history of college football to both be in the College Hall of Fame.

Charlotte 35:13

Wow.

Jim Tressel 35:14

In terms of players father and son players that have been inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame are the Mannings, archie, yeah.

Charlotte 35:24

Didn't know that, learned some new facts here and it's not as easy to get into that College Hall of Fame.

Jim Tressel 35:32

I know it's real hard because you know the number of kids that have played in college. You know, and no doubt any of those Hall of Fames are hard, but that was meaningful.

Charlotte 35:42

That's great. Well, I didn't know your father was in the College Hall of Fame as well. Well, we have thoroughly enjoyed learning about Coach Jim Tressel and I prefaced it with Coach because that's how I know you. That's right, president, jim Tressel, the man. Jim Tressel, the husband, the father, but just a good human being that I'm honored to know and I just I thank you for sharing what you have with us today, giving listeners a glimpse of the other side of you.

Jim Tressel 36:18

We all have third one right.

Charlotte 36:20

We do, we do, we do. I had a third one with my lighting today, but we made it through. That's right. We still got to talk and share. So thank you, coach Tressel, my friend and I can't wait to see you soon. Thank you you as well. Take care.

Jim Tressel 36:40

Alrighty.

Charlotte 36:43

The Char Charable for this week has to do with college recruiting, but it's also something that we could use for the game of life. When your child gets invited to go on an official visit, you are offered the red carpet, the best of everything. But if you can find time to go back and visit that university on your own time, you will be able to see things that normally you won't see. While you're on that official visit, you'll be able to talk to students on campus. You'll be able to see the not so good parts of campus as well. You'll be able to ask questions from staff that work there that normally you wouldn't be able to do when you're on that official visit and you'll be on your own time. So you'll be able to have time to really look around, not be rushed, not be served the best foods, but really have your student athlete get to know how it would be if they were there as a student as well as an athlete. So that's some kind of advice that you can also use when you're on that first date. Don't let the good looks or the great conversation the smell good, the look good fool you, because you gotta get to know someone, you gotta get to know a school. The staff Just don't make that jump too quick. Take the unofficial in life and on that sports visit.

Charlotte 38:26

Thanks for joining me and my special guest this week on it's Third in One. Please make sure you follow them and stay connected with them on social media. I'm asking you to join me in spreading the word about it's Third in One. You can do so in two ways. Please subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen, and leave a five star rating with a review. You can also follow us on social media at it's Third in One. That's spelled I-T-S-3-R-D-A-N-D-1. You can find us on Instagram, facebook, twitter and YouTube. There you can engage and leave questions and comments for us to see. I'll be right back here next week with another special guest to talk a lot of life mixed in with a bit of sports. Please remember every down has history. Thank you, thank you.