x
Breaking News
More () »

Former Penn State Quarterback, Fans Hope NCAA Restores Paterno’s Wins

SCRANTON — There was buzz amongst Penn State fans Tuesday after reports the NCAA may restore wins wiped away after the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal. T...

SCRANTON -- There was buzz amongst Penn State fans Tuesday after reports the NCAA may restore wins wiped away after the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports there are negotiations to restore more than 100 wins that were wiped away by the sanctions.

If the NCAA gave those 111 wins back to Penn State, Joe Paterno would once again be the winningest coach in college football history.

Newswatch 16 talked to former Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin and fellow fans who are hoping the wins are restored.

"It's more important for Joe's legacy, more important for the university and the football program to get those wins back," McGloin said.

McGloin's football career at Penn State is four years he'll never forget.

The Scranton native played under legendary head football coach Joe Paterno, helping him get his 409th win.

It was a moment Paterno himself couldn't believe.

"To be something like this really means a lot to me," Paterno said following the Illinois game in October 2011.

It wasn't long before Paterno was no longer the winningest college football coach after the NCAA imposed sanctions on the university amidst the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal.

All of Paterno's wins were stripped from 1998 through 2011.

McGloin says it was wrong to begin with.

"It's something that shouldn't have happened in the first place. The wins should have never been taken away, we should have never had to pay for things that happened in the past," McGloin said.

111 wins were cleared from the record books.

The unprecedented sanctions also banned its current players from playing in the postseason.

"To have that taken away you from, to have a bowl game taken away from you in your senior season, when every player wants to go out on a high note, play well, end it with a nice bowl game.  It was a bit unfair and till this day I still think about it," McGloin said.

Students at Penn State's Hazleton campus say they would love to see Joe Paterno's wins restored.

They believe they shouldn't have been taken away in the first place.

"I was at his 400th win and it's a memory I'll have for the rest of my life. They can't take that away," Ryan Moran a Penn State freshman said.

"What they kind of did to his legacy is just not fair. I think it would be really good for the Penn State football team, for him, his family and for basically anybody has is a Penn State fan," CJ Ziegmont, a Penn State freshman, said.

 

Before You Leave, Check This Out