Penn State President: University Should Be “Rewarded” for Post-Sandusky Changes

Penn State’s new president, Eric Barron, on Monday said the university should be “rewarded” for improvements it has made since the Jerry Sandusky scandal, but stopped short of saying the NCAA should reduce or end its sanctions against the university and its football program.

The Patriot News reports that Barron made his comments Monday at the Pennsylvania Press Club in Harrisburg. He said:

“A big mistake is to actually sit there and say: ‘This is what you guys should do.’ Because they’re [the NCAA leaders] all a whole bunch of presidents that are going to sit there and have their own strong opinion.

“So I’m not going to enter into the debate of who should do what, and when.

“But this is my general view in life. If you’re doing well, you should be rewarded … So if we’re sitting there with what I think is the best compliance program in sports ethics in the nation, Penn State should be rewarded for that.”

He emphasized he wouldn’t call for a reduction in sanctions, but said: “What I want them to do is to see what a great job we’re doing, and them make up their mind.”

Next month, former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell is due with a two-year review of the four-year sanctions. Under the remaining sanctions, the university is still banned from the postseason for two more years and must finish paying out a $60 million fine. The university already had all its wins from 1998 to 2011 erased.