Deal Restores Penn State’s Vacated Football Wins

(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Joe Paterno is once again the winningest coach in major college football history.

In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal, the late Penn State coach had 111 wins vacated in 2012. But Pennsylvania officials and the NCAA reached a proposed settlement that will restore Paterno’s wins, bringing his record to 409-136-3 — and 24-12-1 in bowl games. (A 112th win, which was won under interim head coach Tom Bradley following Paterno’s firing in the wake of the scandal, was also restored.)

The deal was approved by the Penn State Board of Trustees this afternoon. Here is the NCAA announcement containing details of the settlement.

The Inquirer recently reported about a possible deal between the NCAA and Pennsylvania. Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman and state Treasurer Rob McCord had sued the NCAA over a consent degree Penn State signed that vacated the wins and forced Penn State to pay a $60 million fine. The agreement also restructured that fine — the $60 million will go to programs that both help prevent and treat child sexual abuse.

Corman and McCord originally sued in an attempt to enforce a law that said the $60 million fine must be spent in the state of Pennsylvania. Bradley, who took over in 2011 after Paterno was fired, had one win restored. His career coaching record, all at Penn State, is now 1-3.

The Daily Collegian, Penn State’s student newspaper, recently editorialized that “getting the wins back would make us happy. But no, it’s not the biggest issue facing our university right now.”