‘I still hold a grudge’: Former Ohio State HC Urban Meyer admits the one thing he’s still mad about from his time in Columbus
Urban Meyer had a sensational run at Ohio State from 2012 until he stepped down after the 2018 season. Meyer won one national championship and could have came close to earning another. Now a FOX analyst, he remains frustrated about one specific thing during his Ohio State tenure, during which he totaled an impressive 83–9 […]
Urban Meyer had a sensational run at Ohio State from 2012 until he stepped down after the 2018 season.
Meyer won one national championship and could have came close to earning another. Now a FOX analyst, he remains frustrated about one specific thing during his Ohio State tenure, during which he totaled an impressive 83–9 record as head coach.
“Our 2012 team went undefeated and wasn’t able to compete in the postseason. We would have played Notre Dame for the national championship that year,” Meyer said recently on The Triple Option podcast. “It was very punitive. Jim Tressel, whom I know well—I know this case because I lived it, and I was hired directly after Coach Tressel resigned—there was no competitive advantage [to the violations].
“They were trading memorabilia for tattoos. Competitive advantage? Zero. There’s nothing there. Was it wrong? Yes. Jim Tressel was accused of lying. He was aware of [the trading]. He ended it. But the inconsistency of that penalty, to this day, still bothers me.”
Meyer took over at Ohio State in 2012, when the Buckeyes were serving a postseason ban stemming from NCAA sanctions related to the tattoo scandal. Despite that, he led the team to a perfect 12–0 record in his first season.
“I still hold a grudge about that whole thing,” Meyer admitted. “I know Coach Tressel. I followed him, so I know exactly what his program was all about, and that was just wrong. That was a mistake on a lot of fronts. The support Tressel received in Columbus, I don’t think it was fair. Certainly not on the national level—it’s actually a joke, to be honest with you.”
Meyer’s comments come more than a decade after the fact, but his frustration is understandable. Ohio State’s undefeated 2012 season was impressive, yet the team was unable to compete on the biggest stage due to sanctions imposed before his arrival.
His remarks also come just weeks before an expected decision on the Michigan sign-stealing scandal—an issue that could shape how the NCAA handles future disciplinary cases.
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