COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio State suspended football coach Jim Tressel for two games and fined him $250,000 for violating NCAA rules by failing to notify the school about information he received involving two players and questionable activities involving Buckeye memorabilia.
Tressel also will receive a public reprimand and must make a public apology.
"Wherever we end up, Jim Tressel is our football coach," athletic director Gene Smith said at a news conference Tuesday night. "He is our coach, and we trust him implicitly."
Last December, the NCAA suspended five players, including quarterback Terrelle Pryor, for the first five games of the 2011 season for selling items such as jerseys and championship rings.
Ohio State said it "became aware of this situation Jan. 13, while reviewing information on an unrelated legal issue."
Smith returned to campus Tuesday to address the brewing controversy involving Tressel, who is 106-22 in his 10 years as coach of the Buckeyes.