Carol Stream, Ill.—Tyndale House Publishers today announced that it has reached an agreement with Ohio State University head football coach, Jim Tressel, to publish The Winners Manual: For the Game of Life. Cowritten with Chris Fabry, The Winners Manual releases with a Tuesday, July 15, 2008 “street date” and will be launched with a comprehensive national marketing and publicity campaign. For the myriad Ohio State Buckeyes’ fans throughout the country, as well as football fans in general, The Winners Manual will provide a rare glimpse into the mind of one of the most respected coaches in college football history and into the huddle of one of the most successful football programs of all time. Coach Tressel will share never-before-published anecdotes about players and games from throughout his storied coaching career at Ohio State and Youngstown State, as well as fundamental lessons he has been imparting to his players and coaching staffs for the past twenty years.

“Throughout my coaching career I have enjoyed studying from the great coaches throughout the country in order to create my plan for success on-and-off the field,” said Tressel. “Of course the players and coaches that I have had the good fortune to work with have shaped my approach the most. However, opportunities to read books written by the likes of John Wooden, Tom Landry, Bill Walsh, Tom Osborne, Tony Dungy and many others has influenced me a great deal. With this book we hope to provide a tool for professionals, leaders of all kinds, coaches, athletes, and especially moms and dads.”

The Winners Manual: For the Game of Life focuses on Jim Tressel’s “Big Ten” fundamentals for success. An inspiring blend of football stories, spiritual insights, motivational reading, and practical application, The Winners Manual will provide an inside look at the core philosophy that has affected the lives of thousands of student athletes in a positive way and served as the foundation for two of the most successful college football programs ever. The book will also feature eight full-color pages of photos from Coach Tressel’s personal family album, as well as the Ohio State and Youngstown State football archives.

Ron Beers, senior vice president and group publisher at Tyndale House Publishers, said, “It is an honor for us to be working with Coach Tressel on this book, which will have a broad appeal. This will be both a fascinating and insightful read. And we are particularly excited that this book will have an added benefit that gives back to the university.”

Tressel is contributing his profits for the The Winners Manual to the William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library Renovation Fund on the Ohio State University campus in Columbus. The library was named in honor of the university’s fifth president and is considered a university landmark, composed of three structures—the original 1913 building, the stack tower added in 1951, and the 1977 addition. Closed for renovation in July 2006, the library is the focal point of the university and is scheduled to reopen in 2009. Tressel and his wife, Ellen, have been co-chairs of this $110 million project.

Since taking over the reins of the OSU football team in 2001, Tressel has guided the Buckeyes to an overall record of 73–16; seven bowl appearances, including five Bowl Championship Series games; five ten-win seasons; four Big Ten titles; and one national championship.

In 2002, Tressel was named National Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association, an award he had won three times at Youngstown State University in the I-AA division, thus becoming the first person in the history of the AFCA to win the honor at two different schools. He also received the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year Award from the Football Writers Association of America.

Prior to coming to Ohio State, Tressel had spent fifteen seasons as the head coach at Youngstown State, where he quickly became one of the most respected I-AA coaches in America. His years there were very successful, as his teams won four national championships and compiled an overall record of 135–57–2. He was a four-time pick as the Division I-AA Coach of the Year. His combined overall head coaching record at Ohio State and Youngstown State is 208–73–2 and he has taken nine of his teams to a national championship game, winning five titles.

Tressel is actively involved with the American Football Coaches Association, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Alpha Tau Omega, the William Oxley Thompson Library, and the Ohio State University Medical Center. He participates in local philanthropic opportunities, including the Alzheimer’s Association of Central Ohio, the Columbus Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the Tressel Family Fund for Cancer Prevention Research, the Ronald McDonald House, the Youngstown State University Minority Student Endowment, the Mount Carmel School of Nursing, and the Jim and Ellen Tressel Athletic Scholarship Fund.

Jim and his wife, Ellen, live in Upper Arlington, Ohio. They are the parents of four children—Zak, Carlee, Eric, and Whitney.

“This book really is a perfect mix of great football stories, solid leadership principles, strong spiritual insight, and practical application,” said Carol Traver, senior acquisitions editor at Tyndale. “Not only is Coach Tressel a fantastic storyteller, he also has a genuine desire to help his players (and others around him) achieve their fullest potential in life—all of which comes across very strongly in this book.”
Football and Tyndale House recently resulted in another “winning combination” when Tyndale published Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life, a memoir by Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker on July 10, 2007. Quiet Strength reached No. 1 on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction list and, with more than one million copies in print, has become one of the best-selling sports-related titles in history. Tyndale also recently published Don’t Bet Against Me! by Deanna Favre. The memoir of the wife of former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre was also a New York Times best seller. Tyndale House Publishers was founded in 1962 by Dr. Kenneth N. Taylor as a means of publishing The Living Bible and has since grown into one of the premier publishing houses in the industry. It is located in Carol Stream, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago.

Retailers may contact their Tyndale representative or place orders at 1-800-323-9400 or www. Tyndale.com.The Winners Manual may also be ordered from online retailers or www.the winnersmanual.com. (The Web site will also include images and book tour updates.)