YSU Tressels, Watsons give $250K to center

A room in Kilcawley Center was named for the benefactors.
By ROB MEYER
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Standing behind a podium at Youngstown State University's Kilcawley Center, Ohio State University's football coach Jim Tressel admitted he never really left the city.
"Though I've been kind of gone for two years now, I will never really be gone from here," said the former YSU football mentor, who coached the OSU Buckeyes to a national championship this year.
Tressel was back in town Friday for two reasons -- to donate $125,000 to YSU's new student recreation center, and for the dedication ceremony of a new reading lounge in Kilcawley Center.
Frank and Norma Watson of Canfield, parents of Tressel's wife, Ellen, matched the Tressels' donation of $125,000 for the recreation center. YSU then honored the families by the naming a room at Kilcawley the Watson-Tressel Reading Lounge. The lounge features couches, chairs and computers for study, relaxation and research.
"This is a definitely a team effort today," YSU President Dr. David C. Sweet said at the dedication ceremony. "It's the Tressel-Tressel team and the Watson-Watson team. We wanted to develop a quiet study room where students can study."
Recreation center
Sweet also discussed the new recreation center, which will be attached to Kilcawley Center. He said ground will be broken in about eight months.
The campaign to raise $12 million for the center has surpassed the $9 million mark. The 65,000-square-foot facility will feature a fitness center, climbing wall, weight room, jogging track, racquetball courts and a spiritual meditation room.
The Tressels and the Watsons have many ties to YSU.
Jim Tressel coached the Penguins to NCAA Division I-AA national titles in 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1997. He left YSU in 2001 to coach the Buckeyes. His wife, Ellen, is a graduate of YSU.
Frank Watson, also a YSU graduate, is a former university trustee and is the former president of the Youngstown Welding and Engineering Co.
"Our community is only going to be as strong as our university," Frank Watson said. "This project certainly makes our university a much stronger institution."
Jim Tressel said the new recreation center is one step toward making YSU the premier attraction in the city.
"When people talk about Youngstown in 2025, we want them to say 'That's where YSU is'," he said. "YSU is going to be in the history books as the main thing in Youngstown. People know how much passion we have for YSU."
rmeyer@vindy.com