Joe Paterno
Joseph Vincent Paterno, sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2011. With 409 victories, Paterno is the most victorious coach in NCAA FBS history. He recorded his 409th victory on October 29, 2011; his career ended with his dismissal from the team on November 9, 2011, as a result of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. He died 74 days later, of complications from lung cancer.
Paterno was born in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Brown University, where he played football both ways as the quarterback and a cornerback. He had originally planned on going to law school, but he was instead hired in 1950 as an assistant football coach at Penn State. He was persuaded to do this by his college coach Rip Engle, who had taken over as Penn State's head coach. In 1966, Paterno was named as Engle's successor. He soon coached the team to two undefeated regular seasons in 1968 and 1969. The team won two national championships—in 1982 and 1986. Paterno coached five undefeated teams that won major bowl games, and in 2007 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach. During his career, he led the Nittany Lions to 37 bowl appearances with 24 wins while turning down offers to coach National Football League teams that included the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots.
Paterno's coaching career ended abruptly in 2011, shortly before his death, when the Penn State Board of Trustees terminated his contract in response to a child sex abuse scandal involving Paterno's former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. An investigation conducted by former FBI director Louis Freeh reported that Paterno concealed information relating to Sandusky's abuse of a young boy. A critique of the Freeh report, commissioned by the Paterno family, disputed Paterno's involvement in the alleged cover-up.
In 2012, the NCAA vacated all of Penn State's wins from 1998 through 2011 as part of its punishment. State Senator Jake Corman used the Freeh report as a basis to sue the NCAA, asserting that both Freeh and the NCAA had collaborated and failed to follow due process. Corman released emails showing "regular and substantive" contact between NCAA officials and Freeh's investigators, suggesting that Freeh's conclusions were orchestrated. In a 2015 legal settlement with Penn State, the NCAA reversed its decision and restored all 111 wins to Paterno's record.
Early life and education
Paterno was born December 21, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Florence de LaSalle Cafiero, a homemaker, and Angelo Lafayette Paterno, a law clerk. His family was of Italian ancestry. He spoke with a marked Brooklyn accent throughout his life. In 1944, Paterno graduated from Brooklyn Preparatory School. Six weeks later, he was drafted into the United States Army during World War II. Paterno spent a year in the Army before being discharged in time to start the 1946 school year at Brown University, where his tuition was paid by Busy Arnold.At Brown University, Paterno was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He played quarterback and cornerback for the Bears, and he shares the career record for interceptions with Greg Parker. Paterno graduated as an English literature major in 1950.
Career
Penn State Nittany Lions
Paterno had been accepted to Boston University School of Law, and was planning to attend before changing his mind and deciding to coach at Penn State. After hearing of his career choice, his father asked, "For God's sake, what did you go to college for?" Paterno joined Rip Engle as an assistant coach at Penn State in 1950; Engle had coached five seasons, from 1944 to 1949, at Brown University.In June 1964, Paterno was promoted to associate coach, the top assistant coaching position. In 1966, when Engle announced his retirement, Penn State University announced Paterno as his successor the following day.
Over his coaching career, Paterno had one Heisman Trophy winner, John Cappelletti, who earned the award in 1973.
Penn State football struggled from 2000 to 2004, with an overall 26–33 record in those years and Paterno became the target of criticism from some Penn State faithful. Many in the media attributed Penn State's struggles to Paterno's advancing age. He had no apparent plans to retire, and contingents of fans and alumni began calling for him to step down. Paterno rebuffed all of this and stated he would fulfill his contract until it expired in 2008. Reflecting the growth in Penn State's stature, Beaver Stadium was expanded six times during his tenure, increasing in size from 46,284 in 1966 to 106,572 in 2001.
During a speech in Pittsburgh on May 12, 2005, Paterno announced that he would consider retirement if the 2005 football team had a disappointing season. "If we don't win some games, I've got to get my rear end out of here", Paterno said in a speech at the Duquesne Club. "Simple as that". Penn State finished the season with a record of 11–1 and were champions of the Big Ten in 2005. They defeated Florida State 26–23 in triple overtime in the 2006 Orange Bowl.
The 2009 season was Paterno's 44th as head coach of the Nittany Lions, passing Amos Alonzo Stagg for the most years as head coach at a single institution in Division I.
Paterno's abbreviated 2011 season was his 62nd on the Penn State coaching staff, which gave him the record for most seasons for any football coach at a single university.
From 2002 onward, Penn State faced a litany of players' off-the-field legal problems, which included 46 Penn State football players facing 163 criminal charges, of which 118 charges were dismissed or not proven, according to an ESPN analysis of Pennsylvania court records and reports.
The Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System revealed Paterno's salary in November 2007 as $512,664. He was paid $490,638 in 2006. "I'm paid well, I'm not overpaid," Paterno said during an interview with reporters Wednesday before the salary disclosure. "I got all the money I need".
Paterno was known for his gameday image — thick glasses, rolled-up dress slacks, white socks and Brooklyn-tinged speech.
Bowls and championships
Paterno holds an official NCAA total of 18 bowl victories. He holds the NCAA record for total bowl appearances with 37. He had a bowl record of 24 wins, 12 losses, and 1 tie following a defeat in the 2011 Outback Bowl. Paterno was the first coach with the distinction of having won each of the four major bowls — Rose, Orange, Fiesta, and Sugar — as well as the Cotton Bowl Classic, at least once. Penn State won at least three bowl games in each of the four decades in which Paterno coached the entire decade, from 1970 thru 2009.Paterno led Penn State to two national championships and five undefeated, untied seasons. Four of his unbeaten teams won major bowl games and were not awarded a national championship.
Under Paterno, Penn State won the Orange Bowl, the Cotton Bowl Classic, the Fiesta Bowl, the Liberty Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Aloha Bowl, the Holiday Bowl, the Citrus Bowl, the Rose Bowl Game, the Outback Bowl, and the Alamo Bowl.
After Penn State joined the Big Ten Conference in 1993, the Nittany Lions under Paterno won the Big Ten championship three times. Paterno had 29 finishes in the Top 10 national rankings.
Awards and honors
- Amos Alonzo Stagg Award, 1989, 2001, and 2002
- AFCA Coach of the Year Award, 1968, 1978, 1982, 1986, and 2005
- Associated Press College Football Coach of the Year Award, 2005
- Dave McClain Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year, 1994, 2005, and 2008
- Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award, 1981 and 2005
- Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, 1978, 1982, and 1986
- George Munger Award, 1990, 1994, and 2005
- Home Depot Coach of the Year, 2005
- National Football Foundation Distinguished American Award, 1992
- National Football Foundation Gold Medal Award, 2006
- NCAA Gerald R. Ford Award, 2011
- Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, 1986
- Sports Illustrated "Sportsperson of the Year, 1986
- Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year, 2005
- Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award, 1972, 1994, 2005
In 2009, Paterno was named to Sporting News list of 50 greatest coaches of all time, including coaches from Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Football League, National Hockey League, college basketball, and college football, ranked 13th overall.
In 2010, the Maxwell Football Club of Philadelphia established the Joseph V. Paterno Award, to be awarded annually to the college football coach "who has made a positive impact on his university, his players and his community." Following the breaking of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal the following year, the award was discontinued by the club.
Also in 2010, the Big Ten Conference established the Stagg – Paterno Championship Trophy as the annual trophy to be awarded to the winner of the conference football championship. However, on November 14, 2011, the trophy name was changed to the Stagg Championship Trophy in light of the Sandusky child abuse scandal.
Paterno was also nominated for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. However, in light of the Sandusky child abuse scandal, U.S. Senators Pat Toomey and Bob Casey Jr., and Representative Glenn Thompson withdrew their support of Paterno receiving the honor.