When John Cooper was dismissed as Ohio State's head football coach following a loss to unranked South Carolina in the 2001 Outback Bowl, Tressel returned to Ohio State and became Cooper's successor. While addressing the Ohio State community during halftime of a basketball game just after being hired as head coach, Tressel declared, "I can assure you that you will be proud of your young people in the classroom, in the community, and most especially in 310 days in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the football field."