Urban Meyer calls out Sports Illustrated over iconic Jim Tressel Sports Illustrated cover

Urban Meyer called out Sports Illustrated over a past cover of former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel. Tressel was on the cover of the June 6th, 2011 edition of the magazine following the fallout of NCAA violations within the Buckeyes’ program.

Tressel resigned in May of that year but these days is seen as someone who’s been vindicated, mostly. Of course the root of the violations stemmed from tattoos for merchandise involving players.

But Meyer to this day does not appreciate the cover of Sports Illustrated. On the front, it says “How Deep It Went: An SI investigation reveals the full extent to which Jim Tressel lost control of the Buckeyes.”

“To this day I still hold a grudge about that whole thing,” Meyer said on The Triple Option. “I know Jim Tressel. I know I followed him, so I know exactly what his program was all about. And that was wrong. I mean, that was a mistake on a lot of fronts, the support Tressel received in Columbus I don’t think was fair, and certainly the national … it’s actually a joke, to be honest with you. And so remember now, competitive advantage, negligible. None. There wasn’t.”

Tressel went 106-23 from 2001-10 at Ohio State, winning five Big Ten titles in a row from 2005-09. He struck gold in 2002, going 14-0 and winning the Fiesta Bowl as Ohio State were crowned national champions with a 31-24 win over Miami.

But Tressel’s legacy is somewhat tainted in some fans’ or critics’ eyes. Heck, the 2010 season saw Ohio State go 12-1 and win the Sugar Bowl, finishing No. 5 in the country. But, the school had to vacate all 12 of those wins due to ineligible players.

But at this point, it’s all ancient history. Maybe not to Meyer, but Tressel is in his new role as Ohio’s lieutenant governor.

This is a new era for Tressel, who served as the President of Youngstown State from May 9, 2014 to February 1, 2023. Perhaps political offices were squarely in his sights.

Despite the politics, Tressel still had his eyes on the Buckeyes, who just won the national title last season, a first for Ryan Day. Tressel explained following the game that in his experience, while winning a national championship is great, it also doesn’t necessarily change a coach’s life to win.

“You know what, it doesn’t,” Tressel said. “It doesn’t because he’ll wake up tomorrow and start thinking about how can we get better. There’ll be a lot of guys like you asking him soon, can he repeat? So, it really doesn’t change.”