August is usually a time for exciting anticipation for a college football coach.
For former Ohio State University Head Football Coach Jim Tressel, who resigned Sunday, that emotion may be closer to dread.
On Aug. 12 , Tressel will face the Division I Committee on Infractions to answer questions about why he allegedly mislead the NCAA about whether he knew of his players’ acceptance of impermissible benefits.
Fortunately for the highly successfully football coach, he won’t be alone. Joining him will be Gene Marsh, a former chairman of the infractions committee and an attorney with the Birmingham law firm Lightfoot, Franklin & White. Marsh served nine years on the infractions committee, including two as chairman, until 2008.
Another important intangible is that Marsh is a 1978 graduate of Ohio State University and is reportedly a close friend of Athletic Director Gene Smith.
Smith and the university braintrust have already instituted self-imposed penalties on the coach, including a five-game suspension and $250,000 fine. And of course there was Tressel’s resignation.
Marsh told the Birmingham News last week that his objective will be to emphasize Tressel’s positive track record.
“Obviously, the track record should matter because some people’s track records are good and some people’s track records are bad,” Marsh told the paper. “I was on the committee for nine years. All I can say is it always mattered to me.”
The attorney added that “any program that’s big is going to have issues. All you have to do is look at Tuscaloosa. If you’re in this business, you’re going to have issues.”
Ohio State, meanwhile, will be represented by Chuck Smrt of The Compliance Group, who was a member of the NCAA Enforcement Staff for 17 years.
