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Harsh Penalties Imposed On Nittany Lions

UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State will continue to play football, but it will certainly not be the same for the next four years and likely beyond. The NCAA ann...

UNIVERSITY PARK -- Penn State will continue to play football, but it will certainly not be the same for the next four years and likely beyond. The NCAA announced its sanctions and came down hard, just another lasting impact from Jerry Sandusky's sex abuse and the accusations that Penn State covered it up.

These are the penalties:

  • $60 million fine, a whole year's football revenue that will fund child sex abuse prevention and victims.
  • Football scholarships were reduced, 10 fewer scholarships for the next four years.
  • All wins vacated from 1998 to 2011. That means Joe Paterno is no longer the winningest coach in college football.
  • Five year probation for the football programs as the NCAA monitors the school's progress.
  • Four-year ban from bowl games and championships, a big blow for the recruiting process.

"Such egregious behavior is not only against our bylaws and constitution, but also against our value system and basic human decency, said Oregon State University President Dr. Edward J. Ray President.

The NCAA is cracking down on Penn State the day after the university took down the Joe Paterno statue. His legend and reputation took another blow Monday, stripping him of 111 wins back to 1998. He isn't even in the top ten for coaching victories now.

The big impact now is on this school and its future. The football program will most likely struggle to deal with these stiff sanctions, among the harshest imposed by the NCAA in decades.

NCAA officials said they didn't do their own investigation into Penn State, relying mostly on the Freeh report in the school's actions released two weeks ago.

"As we -- the executive committee, the Division I board, and I -- have examined and discussed this case, we've kept foremost in our thoughts the tragic damage that has been done to the victims and their families. No matter what we do here today, there is no action we can take that will remove their pain and anguish but what we can do is impose sanctions that both reflect the magnitude of these terrible acts and that also ensure Penn State will rebuild and athletic culture that went horribly awry," said NCAA President Mark Emmert.

The Big Ten Conference issued a statement Monday morning as well. It is taking away the $13 million Penn State gets for bowl games over the next four years, and giving that to a charity for children.

Both the university president and athletic director issued statements saying they accept the NCAA punishment.

Football coach Bill O’Brien also said he is in for the long haul as Penn State tries to work through this.

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