I think it is excessive. The only people that will endure the punishment had nothing to do with Jerry Sandusky. Current & future students, current athletes, new coach and the entire town of State College. Nor does it do anything to help the victims. People are so afraid that they will be criticized that all logic and common sense has gone out the window. Punish those that were involved using the full extent of the law.

Lest we forget the dead cannot defend themselves. Freeh's report stated that emails obtained from his investigation alluded to the possibility that Paterno knew about the abuse. Pater no never emailed anyone and there we're "vague" references to him being in the loop. This would not stand in a court of law. Its hearsay evidence at best, yet they have no problem destroying the mans legacy on hearsay evidence. Its very easy to pin the whole thing on the dead guy. PSU should be ashamed of themselves. They took the easy way out and let the dead coach take the fall. As alumni,that university will never see another cent of my money...not only because of the way they handled the investigation but how they pushed the whole incident under the rug for years. I will never spend another dime on anything with PSU printed on it and I will never visit state college again. My children will not attend any university in the Commonwealth of PA if I can help it.

I hope the sanctions make somebody feel good.

All this does is punish the players and fans...who had NOTHING, I REPEAT NOTHING to do with this scandal. Punish the university, punish the coaches. Make them pay out of the nose. But those players who played their hearts out for their school now bare the scars that they did nothing to earn. Shame on PSU...shame on the NCAA.

The $60 million will go to an endowment to help child sexual abuse victims, so it does help some victims of these crimes. I am ok with the fine.
I am ok with vacating the wins (even if it means nothing except on paper).
I have a huge problem with the NCAA saying they are for the student-athlete and then removing the ability for 40 student-athletes to obtain a scholarship.

The NCAA punishing Penn State is like the pot calling the kettle black, this "boys" club mentality has defined the NCAA all along - by encouraging and rewarding the stronger teams in their organization they have given power to individuals and organizations? You want to be a pro, you need to come play for my organization. The NCAA is as much to blame for this as anyone. It has encouraged and given this power throughout the years. Colleges and Universities need to be institutions of higher learning first and foremost. Take the college sports off of the TV, only give academic scholarships and let college sports be intramural. That will take the power away from these boys' clubs. If not, then don't be surprised that this type immoral and criminal behavior continues. Penn State was not the only powerhouse football program in the nation. Think Oregon's, Alabama's, Ohio State's or LSU's don't carry the same kind or power that Paterno had?
Wake up people, all these programs are the same.
Do you really think that the Penn State had the only perv in a college in the country?

Again I say, go after the "whole" board of trustees and our "wonderful" Govenor Corbett who was States Attorney General at the time this all started. Why do they go unscathed????

Such overkill.

Many people forget that Penn State elitists like Paterno and trustees caused this mess because they felt their sH&* did not stink. They deserve what they received today. The public demands education before sports and the NCAA finally proved this point. I am sick and tired of football players getting a full ride while those kids who are lower middle class with no other talent but brains get nothing. Penn State will suffer for at least ten years for this predicament. But if you have to blame one individual other than Paterno- Corbett is the one and this will come out in the next few weeks.

Talk about reaching! Digging back to 1998 to vacate wins when even the police and DA (that corbett dope) already investigated Sandusky and did NOTHING!!!!!

The NCAA helps these teams feel their stuff doesn't stink. They did not get this powerful on their own. Everyone wants to play NCAA - so it creates this elitist society. get rid of all non-academic scholarships and TV coverage and it will cut the power to the NCAA beast- which Penn State was part of.

Donna, you realize that NCAA stands for the National Collegiate Athletic Association don't you? This had nothing to do with Athletics.

Awesome News...Penn State deserves it!

Why Kim? Please enlighten me! Oh, and Updegrave isn't a real name.

C'mon, folks...Pennsylvania Sports is never a darling of the sports establishment or the media...How many of our top-notch stars ever lionized, appreciated...Have you seen Roy Halladay hawking shoes, Cole Hamels selling beer, Julius Erving sponsoring charitable events, etc., yet we see more minor figures doing some commercial promotions of sorts?..I feel the NCAA acted the same way of belittling our sports complex, unfortunately, Penn State was there for the picking...That's how I feel...This is overdone.

Governor Tom Corbett should be included here. The state AG at the time gets off scott free? UNREAL!

Yes...let's punish the athletes and students who had nothing to do with Sandusky raping boys. So all of those games are vacated. I wonder how Adam Talifero feels knowing he was paralyzed and nearly died playing in a game that the NCAA deemed meaningless?

Did the NCAA vacate all if the wins that other teams got against PSU during that time? Nope. NCAA = Frauds.

For all of you people who want to eliminate sports from college... think about this. One of the reasons a PSU education is so affordable is because of that football program. Do you know how much money it generates for other departments in the university?I hope all of you high and mighty types get what you wish for...tuition that triples in the next few years.

While I am sure there will be plenty of people who will defend Penn State, there loyalty is severely misguided. The football culture, and protect Paterno mentality reflects a University that has forgotten why it exists, and it’s not football.

For over 16 years, administrators at Penn State have drug their feet in establishing policies and procedures to comply with the Clery Act. I say good for the NCAA. Maybe now we've got their attention. Jerry Sandusky was allowed to do what he did and get away with it because the football program was most important. Deny it all you like.

Again...how did any of the the students, fans and collegiate athletes have anything to do with what Sandusky did? No one has given me an answer. Yet these are the people who will be forced to pay the price. What did any of those football players do that led to the raping of young boys by Sandusky? NOTHING.

So now I as a fan...as alumni am forced to bare the burden of what a few men did and covered up? I don't think so. Why should any of the members of the football program be forced to vacate wins? They did nothing wrong.

This goes back 40 years...the media hated Paterno and PSU. The man went undefeated 5 times and only had one championship to show for it. Do you think if Bow den or Tom Osbourne had been undefeated 5 times they would not have championships in all those seasons? PSU and Nebraska both go undefeated in 1994 and Nebraska is awarded the championship by the AP. 3 years later Michigan and Nebraska both go undefeated and they share the championship. Face...they hate PSU and Paterno.

This was just their way of sticking it to PSU. Plain and simple. They couldn't bring the man down while he was alive so they did it after he died.

Anyone that agrees with these penalties, I just wonder how they would feel if the Eagles would do the same, meaning vacating wins because they have an animal abuser on their team. Oh yeah thats right he said he was sorry for what he did and his victims were only dogs.

wow all that for 1 cover up i am waiting to see what is in store for the catholic church with thousands of coverups alot of statues to remove and lots of money to grab

my god, can you make up anymore excuses for Penn State? Next you will say that the higher ups were abused when they were kids-- oops that was used already today. Face it, you play with fire, you get burned and yes Corbett will get burned too. This is not a political issue, so do not turn it into one. This was a bunch of good ole boys who thought they could get away with the criminal acts and were caught with their pants down (pun). To say it was only a handful of guys that caused this problem so pin the blame on just them is really stupid. The only way to cure the problem is assign Penn State with sanctions that will assure that putting their football money racket in front of child safety and the education of Penn State is wrong. The fact the that it was only a few people indicate how strong the football mafia was at Penn State

joe pa is the winningest coach ever screw the ncaa and that report that dirtied him when he was dead and not able to defend himself screw that guy also

I travel for business extensively and work with Penn State alumni frequently. While not one myself (GO VU), they are productive, decent members of our society. This school is much more than a football program, as are all of our universities. They have great educational and research programs. So while it may be "fitting" to bash the football program that let these crimes go on, it really isn't fair to generalize that everyone at this university is bad or deserves this. The student-run charity THON should show that the students have a big heart and is the largest in the nation of any college or university.
The sad thing is, when the season starts, the victims and university will have to endure the media blitz again. I hope for the victims- this is a short lived media event. I hope for the student body that you can emerge stronger (what doesn't kill you makes you stronger). I hope the players, who have the courage and heart to stay at Penn State, realize they will be part of an historical comeback for this university. Imagine the resolve and character to be willing to continue to play - I would hire any one of them that stick this through in a heartbeat. I hope their alumni and fans continue to support the football "players" and show the world you love whats good about the game. I hope the university leads the country in developing new technology, security and policies to ensure this will never happen to another individual again. Good Luck Penn State.

All these penalties and sanctions against PSU did was create even more innocent victims who are the students there now. It did nothing to help the molested children except give them $60 million dollars which could have been done without all this other fanfare. Coach Paterno was targeted unfairly since he is the most visible and well known person involved. When will Gov. Corbett have to answer for his role as Attorney General of PA while all of this was going on? The whole time he was remaining silent to help the investigation, more victims were being abused. The whole thing seems so lopsided and possibly politically motivated. It is a shame that we have made more of a hornet's nest than we already had. It would be nice if we could trust the judgment of our leaders instead of wishing they could see the obvious light.

The arrogance of the responses here is proof that the penalties are not enough!

The entire Sandusky coverup occurred because of the football over everything culture at PSU. A couple of years without football would give the university time to regain perspective return to being a learning institution instead of a football factory. Saturdays would be different. Students would return to learning, football players would transfer to other football factories, and alumni can do whatever they wish. All would find that life goes on just fine.

Instead, games and parties will go on and the football culture will rally around the belief that they are innocent victims of a PC vendetta. Throughout it all, the children abused through PSU' inaction are forgotten.

The only downside to the death penalty would have been the economic impact to the beer and liquor stores and bars on College Avenue.

At what point do you stop yelling and let them begin to serve their penalty? It is a large school and from what I understand, the few Paterno supporters that are left do not represent the sentiment of the state college area.

Maybe if Penn State had imposed some sanctions on itself when this whole horrible mess broke, NCAA intervention would not have been necessary. But instead they just waited, never saying what it should do (and it knew some sanction needed to be imposed on its team). There is no room to complain about the NCAA action - if PSU truly wishes to demonstrate a commitment to place academics and child safety at the forefront, it should impose additional sanctions upon itself, much like SMU did.

Hopefully those left will turn this around...Lord knows there are enough judges and juries watching. NCAA sanction was necessary because Penn State is part of the NCAA. Additional sanctions would serve what purpose? The program is crippled and billions of eyes will be watching their program.

Sin always damages many innocent victims in so many ways. The devastation just goes on. Pride comes before a fall. How Sandusky cannot admit what he did hurts ME as a victim because he shows NO remorse and awareness. I hope in the big picture people realize that sexual abuse is RAMPANT. I have been sexually abused by a 18-19 yr old relative when I was 7-8 yr old and I have met many many more that also were by relatives. In fact everyone I know was abused by a relative: father, uncle, cousin. None of these people LOOK like molestors so beware! PLEASE talk to your children about not being alone with teens or adults. PLEASE talk over and over with them about not allowing ANYONE to touch their bathing suit areas or kiss them on the lips. Have a good relationship with your kids & they'll tell you things, they most likely will not be victims. I have thought, "How in the world did he know I would not tell?". Most likely they will choose victims who do not have a strong relationship with their parents. Let's encourage more people to share their stories so that these creeps know that there is NO shame in admitting you were a victim. They stay empowered to do the horrible stuff they do because of people being too ashamed to speak. Victims speak out & put the light on this dark area of sin so that everyone can see what it is going on to many children each and every day. We ALL should be protecting our children better. Sandusky admit your sin & seek forgiveness from God & your victims!

Carol - you state, "Saturdays would be different. Students would return to learning, football players would transfer to other football factories, and alumni can do whatever they wish. All would find that life goes on just fine."

How misguided and rude to imply that the thousands of students who graduate every year, athletes included, have not been learning. You are clearly just one of those people who resent athletes getting scholarships but overlook all the revenue they bring to the school. I guess the students should have no fun and should just study 24/7.

I believe the NCAA over-stepped their boundaries. This is a legal matter. The scandal did not impact the outcome of any games. I do believe Paterno knew more than he admitted and support the fine and stripping him of the victories. I do not support the other sanctions that punish the students, athletes and busines owners in State College.

As a legal issue, Paterno did all he had to do by reporting it. That stinks. Why have we not been hearing about steps being taken to change the law so that anyone with knowledge would be forced to report it to the police? If you actually care about the poor kids who were abused by Sandusky you will call your elected officials today and demand a change in the law.

Very Sad! There are so many innocent victims here. The students should not suffer for the act of a few staff members. The other faculty who had nothing to do with it should not suffer either. I say all those who were directly involved in this class, the teachers and faculty should be punished, the sad part is the powers that be do not know how to make that happen, so they punish everyone.

For what it's worth, here is my 2 cents.
The details have not been fully disclosed, so it's basically folly to try and guess at who knew what and when. It is doubtful the truth will ever come out fully, and in a case like this there are many sides to the story, so let's look at the facts.

1. Penn State obviously had a liability, to the tune of $70M+, or they would not have so readily settled this part of the investigation
2. While it's easy to say they threw Joepa under the bus, from the beginning it was clear he had serious culpability. THEY FIRED A LIVING LEGEND!

The one good thing that can result from this sordid event is that people will learn that it is not acceptable to sweep it under the rug, and that it is better to take the pain and embarrassment of full disclosure if it means potentially preventing one more case of abuse. I hope this serves as a wake up call to every institution and person in our country.

I don't understand. Were any of the students at PSU molested or have anything to do with the crime? If not, then why is the high and might NCAA punishing the student body. Historically, sanctions were brought against teams because the student athletes were involved as well as coaches. Enlighten me, how were students involved in this and why is NCAA dealing in an issue that is a criminal offense. Is there no other higher board of education that can sanction the leadership and faculty of the university? The sports had nothing to do with it. If a professor was working as a volunteer at a orginization off campus and they were found to be molesting children who are not students of PSU, would you shut down the entire University? I am confused by the power of this NCAA.

All this whining is annoying. Kill the football program and go back to being a small farm school. They WERE Penn State.

whatever happened to colleges being places where people went to learn? how do the NCAA punishments affect the kids paying to get an education there? is some kid going to get a lower-quality engineering education because of the NCAA penalty? Let's not forget what the main mission of the university is. PSU is a good school, but if you say the words "Penn State" to the average person, they will associate those words with either football or Paterno. PSU is a good school, but is not known that way. They still have a football program. Kids can still go watch games. What is the big f'n deal? The football program covered up child abuse to protect the program. Yeah, the program should be knocked down a peg or two. Penn State is not here to solely field a football team every year.

Careless fill is saying that Gov Corbett had no chance to do anything in this investigation as he only was not in office as Attorney General at the approrpiate time . However, I heard Gov Corbett saying in an interview that he chose not to become involved at that time as he didn't want to jeopardize the investigation. I don't know the time frame that he was referring to, but whatever time it was, there was still ongoing child molesting happening which could have been stopped sooner if he chose to become actively involved. In that respect, he is in the same situation as the PSU officials are accused of. That would have been more effective in stopping the actual problem than the sanctions will be.

If you want to understand all that Corbett did and did not do, just read this article.
http://www.yardbird.com/joe_paterno_takes_the_fall.htm

Though it was a good start, the NCAA should have gone further to punish the fans of PSU. That's right! I said it! PUNISH THE FANS!!!

Punish the myriad farmers, Rebel-flag waving, rednecks of Pennsylvania's li'l Alabama. Those "faithful" hundreds of thousands who cannot spell "pedophile" or "sanctimonious" or "institutional corruption" but LOOOOOOVE PSU football.

Punish the overweight, under educated, jean-short and LA Gear wearing, mullet-headed, incest committing "Friends of Joe" from Reading, Johnstown, Altoona, and Williamsport. Punish those who brandish multiple PSU car magnets and stickers, together with their NRA, NASCAR, and "God made Adam and Eve, NOT Adam and Steve" bumper stickers. Those who celebrate Rick Santorum, those who call for Barack Obama's birth certificate, those who elected Tom Corbett. Those who say things like "Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are not REAL Pennsylvania".

Those who go to Insane Clown Posse concerts, AS WELL AS Christian Rock festivals. I am talking about you!!!

Your punishment.... hold your breath... Forced attendance at PSU men's basketball games...for four years.

Furthermore, the PSU lacrosse team (country's best coach, and goalie) home games will forever be relocated to Beaver Stadium - which is to be renamed "Beaver Slayer Stadium" in homage to the nation's great lax players who did not attend PSU and do not condone pedophilia.

Its time for a change! Its time to PUNISH THE FANS! GUILT BY ASSOCIATION!!!

OOPS!!!... lest i forget....

Those cry-baby "why punish the students and fans for the actions of JUST THREE PEOPLE (they won't include Joe, of course, and count "FOUR"). These chumps need to be punished.

When has the NCAA ever punished those truly at fault? When in the history of the NCAA did those individuals directly responsible for violations receive sanction? NEVER?!?!

Punishment by NCAA is ALWAYS in arrears. Its always without harm to the those who committed the violation. The sanctimonious cries of "fair play" by the PSU cry babies needs to stop. Where were you for the OSU fans? For the USC fans? For the Miami, Memphis State, Baylor (years ago, when one b-ball player murdered another... YES! A criminal act by one occurring outside the program for which THE ENTIRE UNIVERSITY WAS PUNISHED). Why weren't you standing up for "fans rights" then? You chumps....

Your punishment... getting your head whizzered into the ground by PSU wrestling coach and greatest NCAA ATHLETE OF ALL TIME, Cael Sanderson!! As you pick up your teeth and try to stop the birds chirping in your ears and stars from clouding your vision, maybe you will understand a simple rule.

THE NCAA ALWAYS PUNISHES THE FANS AND THE INSTITUTION. People are beyond reproach. You stinking CHUMPS...

The scandal was an atrocity. The PSU administrators should also be held accountable
The NCAA hurt the innocent student athletes and fans.

What about having the NCAA standup goals and putting academic achievement ahead achievement on n the field.

How many professional athletes who were recruited. Into

How many professional atheletes came into the NBA and NFL via way of the NCAA scholarship and were short changed a higher education? What a obvious flaw in the NCAA system.