$1 million gift to YSU

YOUNGSTOWN — Former Youngstown State University head football coach Jim Tressel and his wife and her parents have given the university $1 million to help build an indoor practice field for YSU intercollegiate athletics.

The money is part of YSU's Centennial Campaign which now stands at $32 million. The goal is $43 million to help finance various campus improvements.

An indoor practice field is one of the centennial project line items, and it will have a price tag of between $3 million and $4 million.

Tressel and his wife, Ellen, and her parents, Frank and Norma Watson, presented the gift in an announcement today on campus.

Frank Watson is a former president of Youngstown Welding and Engineering Co. , a graduate of Youngstown College and a former YSU trustee.

Tressel was head coach here for 15 years before taking the helm at Ohio State University in 2001.