Timeline Reveals When Jim Tressel Knew About Ohio State's NCAA Violation

The timeline of events of Ohio State's investigation into what head coach Jim Tressel knew of possible NCAA violations stemming from the sale of memorabilia and when came to the forefront after Tressel was suspended for the first two games of the 2011 season and fined $250,000 on Tuesday. At issue is what Tressel knew about the violations, when he knew it and whether or not he kept the information to himself.

SB Nation's Along The Olentangy put together a timeline that paints a clearer picture about what Tressel knew and how long it took him to come forward. The initial correspondence, an email from an attorney to Tressel, was sent on April 2, 2010. Even after Ohio State was informed its athletes had sold merchandise for tattoos, on Dec. 7, 2010, it still took more than a month for Tressel to come forward, and he only did so after Ohio State's Office of Legal Affairs uncovered the emails.

January 13th, 2011: During an unrelated review of information, Ohio State's Office of Legal Affairs discovered an email from Coach Tressel regarding the tattoo parlor investigation. (It is unclear who the email was directed towards. The wording is ambiguous as to whether it was the original email or another directed to a third party.)

Three days later, on Jan. 16, Tressel acknowledged the emails and his correspondence with the attorney, triggering a chain of events that led to Tuesday's press conference and self-imposed sanctions.

Over the course of nine months, Tressel, apparently, kept the early notification of possible NCAA infractions to himself, according to the timeline. It was that secrecy, not the sale of memorabilia itself, which is a separate investigation, that led to Tressel's suspension.

For more on the Buckeyes, check out SB Nation's Along The Olentangy.