Urban Meyer details grudge he’s holding against Sports Illustrated

Some grudges never go away. That is the case with former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer.

Meyer revealed on “The Triple Option Podcast” last week that he’s holding onto some lingering anger against Sports Illustrated over a story from 14 years ago that detailed the Buckeye program’s memorabilia-for-ink scandal and put then-coach Jim Tressel on the cover. 

“I still hold a grudge about that whole thing,” Meyer said. “I know Jim Tressel. I followed him, so I know exactly what his program was all about. And that was wrong. The support Tressel received in Columbus, I don’t think was fair, and certainly the national [media], it’s actually a joke, to be honest with you.”

On June 6, 2011, SI published its story by writers George Dohrmann and David Epstein that detailed the scandal in which six players from the Ohio State football team had traded memorabilia for cash or tattoos, one being star quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

SI’s report showed that the Department of Justice’s December 2010 investigation didn’t go back far enough — going back to 2002, it involved over 28 players.

The story led to the resignation of Tressel as the Ohio State head coach. 

Meyer took over as head coach after Luke Fickell’s season as interim in 2011, and he was left to deal with the fallout: the Buckeyes were banned from the postseason in 2012, placed on two-year probation, and lost five football scholarships for a three-year period. 

“I know this one well because I lived it,” Meyer said. “Our 2012 team went undefeated and was not able to compete (in the postseason). We would have played Notre Dame for the national championship that year. It was very punitive. Jim Tressel, whom I know well — once again, I know this case because I lived it, and I was hired directly after Coach Tressel resigned. There was no competitive advantage (to the penalties).

“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.”

Tressel went on to become the president of Youngstown State University from 2014-2023 and in February of 2025, was sworn in as the 67th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio.

Meyer, on the other hand, coached the Buckeyes until 2018, until he endured his own set of scandals that led to his retirement after the 2018 season. He won a national championship with Ohio State in 2014.

He went on to coach the NFL’s Jaguars in a disastrous stint that saw him fired with a 2-11 record and spate of on- and off-the-field controversies.