History Repeats itself

Born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio, and most people from that area being huge Ohio State fans (myself not included, being a huge Michigan Wolverine fan) and a big supporter of Jim Tressel it doesn't surprise me that this has happened at The Ohio State University. During my time at Youngstown State as a student working in the Executive offices I was able to see how the following affected the University.

The following is a timeline and will show history does repeat itself. This timeline is from the Infraction Case Yongstown State University.

Spring, 1988: Quarterback and Youngstown native Ray Issac arrives at Youngstown State. Around this time, Tressel introduces Issac to Michael Monus, chairman of the Board of Trustees at Youngstown State and CEO of the drug store chain Phar-Mor. During their first meeting, Monus gives Issac 150 dollars, the first of what will become a habitual series of payments that will total roughly $10,000.

December 21, 1991: Isaac quarterbacks Youngstown State to a 25-17 win over Marshall in the I-AA National Championship Game.

July, 1992: Youngstown State chairman Michael Monus is indicted on fraud and embezzlement charges related to cooking the books at his drug store chain, Phar-Mor. The case would become known as one of the largest cases of corporate fraud in U.S. history. During the course of the investigation, Monus's relationship with Ray Isaac is brought to light. Tressel says he has no knowledge of Monus's payments to Isaac.

January, 1994: The NCAA delivers a notice of allegations to Youngstown State. Tressel, along with Youngstown State Athletic Director Joe Malsimur and Youngstown State President Leslie Cochran assure the NCAA that they will conduct a thorough internal investigation into the matter. This turns out to be a shame, as Malsimur never contacts Monus, and Tressel never speaks to Isaac. In December 2003, Tressel would claim that he can't recall whether or not he talked to Isaac about the allegations. Isaac says he never spoke to anyone.

December 18, 1995: Michael Monus is convicted of one count of conspiracy, two counts of bank fraud, five counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, two counts of filing false income tax returns, 96 counts of interstate transportation of stolen goods, and one count of obstruction of justice. He is sentenced to 19 and a half years in prison. Shortly before this, Monus and Isaac are both implicated in the bribing of a juror in Monus's first trial, which resulted in a hung jury. During this time, Isaac reaches out to Tressel for help, but Tressel distances himself, saying he doesn't want to know anything and Isaac should simply cooperate with authorities.

March 4, 1998: During the course of Michael Monus's trial for jury tampering, more rules violations are exposed at Youngstown State. The NCAA accuses Youngstown State with lack of institutional control, one of the most serious violations in the NCAA. The NCAA determines that Youngstown State's internal investigation in 1994 was not thorough or in-depth.

February 28, 2000: The NCAA concludes its investigation, accepting Youngstown State's self-imposed penalties, which include a reduction of two scholarships in 2000-2001, 2001-2002, and 2002-2003. Because the NCAA's statute of limitations expired in 1996, they cannot take away Youngstown State's 1991 National Championship. The NCAA also chooses not to sanction Tressel.

Now I don't want my readers to think that I hate OSU because of being a Wolverine fan. Personally, I think things were beyond his control and he had trouble handling the Ohio State allegations. Jim Tressel is good man and has done a lot of charity work and has made numerous donations to worthy causes. The OSU fans shouldn't be upset at the University for not backing thier former coach but they should be upset at the players who put him in this situation!