When Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel faces the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions on Aug. 12, OSU won’t be footing the bill for his legal needs.
Tressel, who makes $3.5 million per year, will pay for his lawyer’s service out of his own pocket, OSU athletic director Gene Smith confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The lawyer Tressel has chosen to represent him is Gene Marsh, who earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at OSU and his doctorate of jurisprudence from Washington and Lee University. Marsh served on the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions from 1999–08.
Five Buckeyes — quarterback Terrelle Pryor, offensive lineman Mike Adams, running back Dan Herron, wide receiver DeVier Posey and defensive lineman Solomon Thomas — are suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season for selling memorabilia and receiving improper benefits. Tressel is also suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season for failing to report their violations.
Marsh and the OSU athletic department did not immediately return requests for comment.
