Jim Tressel a finalist for University of Akron president position

Former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel's ambitions in higher education administration are not a secret. We have known that he applied for the presidency at the University of Akron, and also Youngstown State. Despite not having a PhD, a report from the Youngstown Vindicator says that Tressel is one of the three finalists for the position at Akron:

The University of Akron announced today that Jim Tressel, the former head football coach at Youngstown State University and Ohio State University, is one of three finalists for the UA presidency. The other two finalists are Ronald A. Nykiel, provost and vice president of academic affairs at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, Md., and Scott L. Scarborough, provost and executive vice President for academic affairs at The University of Toledo.

Previously, we thought that Tressel was a little bit of a longshot candidate, given his lack of a doctorate and comparatively shorter resume in higher education administration. However, it appears that he's impressed the right people, and is now right in the thick of things.

We spoke to Coaching Search's Scott Roussel recently about whether Tressel would make a good candidate, and how his attempts to secure a university president job could impact his coaching future. No matter what career path Tressel takes, we wish him the best of luck.