Joe Paterno’s Restored Wins Makes Him Winningest Coach Again

Joe Paterno’s wins were restored as part of a settlement of the lawsuit filed against the NCAA and Penn State. The Friday afternoon decision makes Paterno the winningest head coach in Div. I football history.

The wins were taken when the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal unfolded. Other sanctions against Penn State included probation for five years, a four-year postseason ban, a $60 million fine, and a loss of 40 initial scholarships from 2013 to 2017.

The NCAA issued strong sanctions as punishment for Penn State’s failure to act on information regarding Sandusky. He was convicted of serial child sex abuse for more than a decade, and some of the abuse happened on Penn State’s campus.

Sandusky was an assistant coach for 30 years under Paterno.

Before the settlement of the lawsuit, the NCAA had restored the scholarships and reduced Penn State’s program bowl ban. Now Joe Paterno’s 111 wins have been restored, making his career total 409 wins.

Paterno died from cancer in January of 2012, two months after he was fired from Penn State. He spent five decades with the Nittany Lions.

The other matters settled in the lawsuit included:

“Penn State agrees to commit a total of $60 million to activities and programs for the prevention of child sexual abuse and the treatment of victims of child sexual abuse.

Penn State acknowledges the NCAA’s legitimate and good faith interest and concern regarding its handling of the Jerry Sandusky matter.

Penn State and the NCAA will enter into a new Athletics Integrity Agreement (with the concurrence of the Big Ten Conference) that includes best practices with which the university is committed to comply and that provides for the university to continue to retain the services of former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell and his firm to support the university’s activities under the Athletics Integrity Agreement and in the areas of compliance, ethics, and integrity.”

Harris Pastides, Unversity of South Carolina president and member of the NCAA Board of Governors, expressed relief that the litigation has ended. He said, “Continuing this litigation would further delay the distribution of funds to child sexual abuse survivors for years, undermining the very intent of the fine.”

Pastides noted many will focus on the fact that Joe Paterno’s wins were restored. However, the NCAA’s priority was protecting child sexual abuse survivors and educating young people.

[Photo Credit: allenmock]

Joe Paterno’s Restored Wins Makes Him Winningest Coach Again