He had resigned the previous year as head football coach at OSU amid a scandal that led to sanctions by the NCAA, and was effectively barred from coaching for five years.

The prospect of Tressel becoming a university president in Northeast Ohio first surfaced last summer.

Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan began a push to recruit him to replace YSU president Randy Dunn, who surprised the university by accepting another position after just 8 months on the job. Last month Tressel applied to succeed University of Akron president Luis Proenza, who is retiring at the end of June.

On Friday Tressel formally applied for the presidency at YSU.

It's unclear how the NCAA sanction of 2011 against Tressel might affect his candidacy for a presidential post. It refers only to restriction of athletic activities, which some think would only impede his coaching prospects. Others speculate the NCAA might see the role of a college president as encompassing sports programs, and so his candidacy might still come under NCAA scrutiny.

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