NCAA imposes harsh sanctions on Penn State University

State College - The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has just announced major penalties against Penn State University's football program and institution. The school has been hit with a $60 million fine.

The NCAA has levied the Penn State football program with a a four-year football postseason ban and has vacated all wins dating back to 1998. The career record of former head football coach Joe Paterno will reflect these vacated records, essentially relinquishing the disgraced coach of his record as major college football's winningest coach. In addition to the postseason ban, the football program must also reduce 10 initial and 20 total scholarships each year for a four-year period. The University itself was also hit with a $60 million sanction, which is equal to the approximate annual revenue generated by the football program. According to the press release the funds, "must be paid into an endowment for external programs preventing child sexual abuse or assisting victims and may not be used to fund such programs at the university." A Monday morning news release follwed by a press conference by NCAA president Mark Emmert and Ed Ray, the chairman of the NCAA's executive committee, and Oregon State's president announced the sanctions. The news conference took place in Indianapolis where the NCAA is headquartered.