Sandusky fallout: Penn State hit with 4-year bowl ban, $60M fine
The NCAA has hit Penn State with a $60 million sanction, a four-year football postseason ban and a vacation of all wins dating to 1998, the organization announced Monday morning in a news release. At a news conference, NCAA president Mark Emmert said "No price the NCAA can levy with repair the damage inflicted by Jerry Sandusky on his victims," referring to the former Penn State defensive coordinator convicted of 45 counts of child sex abuse last month.
The victories from 1998 to 2011 total 112, and 111 of those will be deleted from Joe Paterno's coaching record. Before today, he was the game's winningest coach. Now, he's fifth on the all-time list.
Reaction from the University of Minnesota was swift. President Eric Kaler backs the sanctions, saying "Penn State's situation is a cautionary tale for all of us."
What else do the penalties mean for the Gophers? Former U of M head coach Glen Mason says, "Penn State is not an elite program anymore." Not only that, he agreed with Kaler, that this is a lesson learned for the University.
Star Tribune columnist Chip Scoggins put it this way: "This case is bigger than football, bowl games or a coach's record. Kids' lives were ruined, and any parent or person with common decency should shudder at the hurt and devastation it caused."
St. John's football coach John Gagliardi, who often talked about how much he respected Paterno, told the Pioneer Press the Nittany Lion's coach made "a terrible mistake."
