Is “The Vest” in or out?

You would have to live in a deep, dark hole if you’re a college football fan and have not heard of the Jim Tressel debacle.

But for those who have been too busy following Charlie Sheen and his “tiger blood” antics or the events leading up to the Royal Wedding on Friday (like I have been religiously doing), here’s a recap:

Tressel with Pryor. Image source: http://nittanywhiteout.com

Five OSU football players, including stud quarterback Terrelle Pryor, were caught in violationof NCAA regulations for selling jerseys, championship rings and other football memorabilia to a tattoo parlor owner. Long story short, Tressel knew of the violations, kept hush, hush about it and allowed those ineligible players to play.

Now, we can argue back and forth if Tressel should stay or go, but let’s leave that up to the so-called experts that can magically predict the future like Miss Cleo.

No matter how this all goes down, there are three entities that will take the biggest hit: Tressel a.k.a. “The Vest,” the Buckeyes football program and The Ohio State University.

The Vest

Class. The one word most individuals would use to describe Tressel—well, until now. Even though I am not a diehard Buckeyes fan, I have always had the utmost respect for Coach Tressel and his program.

Every characteristic about Tressel, from his famous sweater vest to the way he eloquently addresses the media after a game no matter the outcome, exemplifies class and the father-like figure he has become known for.

Coach Jim Tressel of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Image source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com

With all this garbage thrown into the mix, is Tressel’s squeaky-clean image now tarnished? The way in which loyal OSU fans look at Tressel will forever change from this incident. For years, Tressel has brought OSU great success. Now, he has brought a pretty dark cloud over Columbus, and who wants their parade rained on?

Tressel’s image may be a whole different story for football fans that are engrained into the sport (coaches, former players of the game, etc.). No doubt will these individuals acknowledge Tressel’s mistake, but in my eyes, they will be much more forgiving because of Tressel’s longevity of success and impact on the game.

The Program

As mentioned before, the Buckeyes football programis known as a powerhouse team. But since the cat has been let out of the bag, all eyes are on the OSU football program and its players.

Every time a problem surfaces, reporters and media personnel will bring up this incident. It’s like a bad senior picture—it’ll never go away.

If Tressel stays, the focus won’t be on the accomplishments happening on the field, but the actions taking place behind locker room doors. If Tressel goes, it will mark the beginning of a new era.

Coach Jim Tressel leads the team onto the field. Image source: http://www.edaveryreport.com/

The last thing it wants is to be known as “one of those programs,” which could harm its reputation and affect possible recruits and OSU’s football future.

THE Ohio State University

(Sorry, I get a chuckle from “The” still.)

Anyways, the decision of Tressel’s destinywill reflect on everyone who falls under the OSU umbrella—the athletic department, Ohio State president Gordon Gee and the football program.

In the end, it comes down to what Ohio State wants to be known for? Integrity? Honor? Pride? These are the questions that have to be taken into account when it comes to building and maintaining a respectable reputation.

At this point, we’ll all just have to wait in anticipation to see if “The Vest” will be placed into the closest or be reinstated as fall fad once again. Personally, I’d hate to see “The Vest” go out of style.