The NCAA levied historic sanctions against Penn State on Monday, including a four-year postseason ban and what could be crippling scholarship reductions.
NCAA president Mark Emmert, with the approval of the NCAA's executive committee, levied the following punishments against the school in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal and the Louis Freeh report:
-- Penn State will be fined $60 million, which Emmert said was the equivalent of one year's worth of football revenue for the school.
-- The Nittany Lions will be banned from all postseason games, including any bowl games as well as the Big Ten championship game, for four years.
-- Scholarship reductions mean that, over the next four years, Penn State can have no more than 65 players on scholarship in any one season (the NCAA limit is 85) and sign no more than 15 players in any one class (the current maximum for a class is 25).
-- All of the program's wins from 1998-2011 will be vacated. That's 112 wins -- 111 of them tallied by Joe Paterno -- and a pair of Big Ten championships.
-- The athletic program will serve a five-year probationary period.
Emmert said the NCAA will also reserve the right to initiate a formal investigation to impose sanctions on individuals involved in the Jerry Sandusky scandal after the criminal proceedings, such as the upcoming trials of Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, have concluded. Penn State will be required to bolster its compliance office and the NCAA will select what Emmert called an "independent athletics integrity monitor" to report on Penn State's progress in all provisions of the agreement.
Penn State's current players will be permitted to transfer to any school and play immediately.
Emmert said the sanctions were crafted "in the form of a consent decree," which was signed by Penn State as well as the NCAA, he said. The university confirmed that with a statement from president Rodney Erickson Monday, which said "Penn State accepts the penalties and corrective sanctions announced today by the NCAA."
The Big Ten announced later Monday that Penn State will not receive its share of conference bowl revenue, which is divided among each of the 11 institutions. The conference will instead donate the estimated $13 million to charities in Big Ten communities dedicated to the protection of children, according to a statement.
Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien met with players Monday morning after releasing a statement of his own.
"I knew when I accepted the position that there would be tough times ahead. But I am committed for the long term to Penn State and our student athletes," O'Brien said in the statement. "I was then and I remain convinced that our student athletes are the best in the country. I could not be more proud to lead this team and these courageous and humble young men into the upcoming 2012 season."
