The Passing of a Legend

THE LEGEND IS GONE

College Station just isn’t the same anymore. After serving 62 years as the Penn State Nittany Lions Football Coach, Joe Paterno, 85, has passed away from lung cancer yesterday January 22, 2012. Paterno coached five undefeated teams that won major bowl games and, in 2007, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach. In all, he led the Nittany Lions to 37 bowl appearances with 24 wins (six of them later vacated) while turning down offers to coach National Football League (NFL) teams, including the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots (Wikipedia).

Paterno, or should we say JoePA-was known for his gameday image--thick glasses, rolled-up dress slacks (by his admission, to save on cleaning bills), white socks and Brooklyn-tinged speech” (Schlabach, 2012), left the game as the all time leader in wins for any Division 1 coach. His tenure at one school was something matched by very few. A bronze statue was constructed of JoePa in College Station due to his high standing amongst school board members and students at Penn State University.

JoePa spent his last year fighting and denying any involvement in a child sex abuse scandal that led to his dismissal from Penn State. On July 23, 2012, the NCAA vacated all of Penn State's wins from 1998 through 2011 as part of its punishment for the child sex abuse scandal, eliminating 111 of the games Paterno had coached and won, dropping him from first to 12th on the list of winningest NCAA football coaches (Wikipedia).

His family released a statement Sunday morning to announce his death: "His loss leaves a void in our lives that will never be filled” (Schlabach, 2012).

JoePa is survived by wife Suzanne, 5 children, and 17 grandchildren. Everyone who has ever crossed paths with Joe will surely miss him as he was a polarizing figure in the NCAA.

 

References:

Schlabach, M., (2012).  Joe Paterno, 85, dies in state college.  Retrieved from  www.espn.go.com: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7489238/joe-paterno-ex-penn-state-nittany-lions-coach-dies-85-2-month-cancer-fight

Wikipedia. Joe Paterno. Retreived from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Paterno

 

 

Facebook Status Update:

WOW!! According to espn.com, Joe Paterno has passed away from cancer at age 85 today. JoePa was a mainstay at Penn State and will always be remembered as one of the greatest coaches of all time. R.I.P Joe Paterno. Thank you for all you have done for college football.