Very Sad News in Happy Valley. Paterno's legacy appears to end in scandal

[SetBuilder]

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[HRBAKER]

Originally Posted by SetBuilder

Take the statue down?

I hope one day someone takes your tombstone down with a sledgehammer.

If my family wastes money on a tombstone, feel free. Take the statue down.

[WhenItWasAHobby]

The statue came down yesterday and in addition the NCAA levied a very stiff punishment including:

- Four year postseason ban
- 10 initial scholarship losses and 20 per year for four years
- $60 million fine
- All wins from 1998-2011 vacated
- Five year probationary period


http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-...69--ncaaf.html

[barrysloate]

That is a very stiff penalty, but it was also a very brutal crime that was committed. I would say the penalty fit the crime.

[novakjr]

While all of this makes sense. I don't quite get the vacated wins..I know the NCAA wanted to take a crack at JoePa's win record(which is understandable), I honestly don't see the grounds for vacating the wins.. Sure, there was shady business all around, but nothing involving eligibility issues.

I don't have a horse in this race, but I'm just trying to stay objective here..

As much as the actions of Sandusky, JoePa and the rest of the governing body at PSU disgust me, I will still personally view JoePa as the record holder. Well, because he is.. Besides, it wasn't JoePa or the PSU officials that won those games, it was the players. Why should they be penalized here, just because it's the only thing that the NCAA can really do to JoePa. Maybe it's just me being anti-ncaa, but I think vacating the wins is a huge stretch for them. But then again, NO ONE will challenge this, because it's simply, just not that important, given everything else that has gone on...

And as far as the city of Grambling petitioning the NCAA to vacate the wins, just because they wanted their record back for Eddie, is F***ing disgusting..

[WhenItWasAHobby]

From what I read elsewhere, due to Paterno's vacated wins, Bobby Bowden is now the all-time leader in wins in Division I and Paterno drops to 17th in the all-time ranking.

[novakjr]

Originally Posted by WhenItWasAHobby

From what I read elsewhere, due to Paterno's vacated wins, Bobby Bowden is now the all-time leader in wins in Division I and Paterno drops to 17th in the all-time ranking.

Technically, I guess that would be correct. 45 of Robinson's wins at Grambling came before it was an accredited college..

[edhans]

Kudos to the NCAA and to the current administration at Penn State for doing the right thing. There are other institutions and individuals around the country that value the sanctity of their athletic programs above all else. A strong and unambiguous message was necessary, and it was delivered here. It's a shame, of course, that the current student athletes will have to suffer for sins which were nor theirs.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by whenitwasahobby

- all wins from 1998-2011 vacated

stoo-pid

[drc]

In general I support taking away wins as punishment, because most of the NCAA football team crimes are done in the name of winning.

It's certainly true this instance is an unusual case. Usually wins are taken away when on the field players were ineligible-- a direct effect on the games.

[SetBuilder]

Penatly fits the crime? Really?

So the best thing to do is hurt the Penn State athletes who are now disgraced and have to transfer schools, plus all the athletes who lost scholarships?

To punish a dead man and a jailed convict?

Way to go NCAA. The most power hungry organization I've ever witnessed.

[drc]

Penn State had a ridiculous culture that favored football over academics, that put the football coach as the most revered and powerful person at the university. It's a good thing for the students that the shift will be back to academics. It's a university not a football team.

When a Penn State student applies to medical school, the medical schools are going to be interested in the academic rating of the school and not the number of football wins. The student's potential future employer won't care that Penn State went to the Cheetos Bowl. This idea that a good football team is beneficial to students is a myth-- and a silly one when you think about it. You may be shocked to learn that degrees from Cal Tech, Rice, Duke, NYU and Vanderbilt are considered highly desirable by grad schools and employers, even though the school's football teams are mostly horrible.

If someone cares about academics and education, he should be glad at the new focus. If someone wants the school to retain old Paterno football as center of power, he cares only about football.

Do you ever wonder why MIT doesn't have a Division I football team, even though they could easily afford one as they have a larger endowment than Penn State and Alabama put together? Because they feel their mission is *gasp* educating their students.

College athletics can be a good thing, going to your school's games is nice, but it is bad for the university and its students when football dominates the school as it did at Penn State. And at other schools.

[howard38]

Originally Posted by SetBuilder

Take the statue down?

I hope one day someone takes your tombstone down with a sledgehammer.

If I ever cover up for a child molester you have my permission not only to destroy my tombstone but also to disinter my body and dump it in a cesspool.