NCAA Comes Down Hard on Penn State Short of Suspending Football

Last week, I posted a poll question about whether or not Joe Paterno's statue should be removed from the entrance to Beaver Stadium at Penn State. Yesterday, the statue was removed as word came down the NCAA would impose harsh penalties on Penn State in light of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case and the suspension of the football program was one possibility. This morning NCAA president Mark Emmert delivered the news we were all waiting for. The penalties are as follows:

• Penn State is fined $60 million, which is equal to one year's revenue generated by football
• 10 scholarship losses for each of the next four years
• A Four-year post season Bowl ban
• All wins vacated from 1998-2011, which equals 111 wins off Paterno's record
• All players can transfer to other schools and be eligible immediately
• A five year probation

It was widely believed that the football program might be suspended for 2-3 years and Emmert never ruled out that possibility leading up to this morning's announcement. Penn State has also agreed not to appeal or challenge the NCAA's findings.

A few years back, the football program at SMU was suspended because an investigation found SMU players were being paid. The SMU program has since been reinstated. Many high profile sportscasters including Bob Costas of NBC Sports felt that if there was football at Penn State this September, something was very wrong. See Emmert's press conference below.