BARCELONA, Spain– The NCAA finally had its eyes checked and can see enough was enough where overzealous sanctions against Penn State were concerned.
The Nittany Lions will be eligible for post season this year and have all its football scholarships returned next year after the NCAA agreed Wednesday to reduce sanctions stemming from the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. At the same tjme, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney announced Penn State would be eligible to compete for the conference championship.
Penn State’s athletic integrity monitor former Sen. George Mitchell, recommended both actions in his second annual report and moments later, the NCAA said it would follow both recommendations immediately. The reaction in State College Pa. was loud and immediate. thousands of students rallied overnight, celebrating the decision in the streets of State college by chanting and screaming the school’s famous cheer, “We ARE Penn State.” Police in riot gear kept watch, but the demonstration never got out of control.
The school still must pay a $60 million fine, 111 wins under the late Joe Paterno — and one win under interim coach Tom Bradley — remain forfeited, and the program will remain under monitoring. but at least the Lions will be playing on an equal playing field with the rest of the Big Ten in the near future.
It’s time for a reprieve. Penn State has been a model citizen. Former FBI director Louis Freeh made 119 recommendations to Penn State in the wake of the Sandusky scandal. The school has compiled with 115 and three more are in progress. .
Scott Paterno, a son of Paterno’s and a spokesman for the family, said a lawsuit brought against the NCAA and Penn State will continue despite the most recent reduction in sanctions. “Finding out the full truth is the first priority and focus,” Paterno said. “I am also hopeful and certain that at some time his victories will be restored.”
The reduction comes one season after the NCAA scaled back the scholarships penalty following a glowing review by Mitchell in his first annual report. Originally, Penn State would have been able to field only 65 scholarship players this season; now that number is at 75. Before Monday’s announcement, Penn State would have had 80 scholarships next season and a full 85 in 2016. The Nittany Lions also wouldn’t have been eligible for the postseason until 2016. Now, Penn State can play in a bowl this season and will see its scholarship limit return to 85 in time for next season.
NCAA president Mark Emmert caught his share of heat from the time he announced the major sanctions in July 2012, penalties that some suggested as “worse than the death penalty,” or shutting the program down entirely for a brief period. Originally, Penn State faced a four-year postseason ban in addition to reduced scholarship numbers, the $60 million fine and the ability for players to transfer elsewhere without penalty for one year from his knee jerk reaction to public opinion.
“This is deserved because those penalties were never deserved,” said Jay Paterno, former Penn State assistant under his father who just published a book questioning the Freeh investigation and staunchly defending the late Hall of Fame coach. “I am happy for the university and the team. This is a great thing for the university and the football program but there is still a lot to be done and a lot to be corrected. I think the NCAA saying this relief is because of the Mitchell report process is a cover for the fact that there was a faulty Freeh report.”
Sandusky, convicted in July 2012 on 45 counts of sexual abuse of 10 boys, is serving a 30- to 60-year prison sentence. Others allegedly involved in a cover-up — including former school president Graham Spanier, vice president Gary Schultz and athletic director Tim Curley — are awaiting trial
