Joe Paterno became the winningest coach in Division I history the last time he led a Penn State team onto the field.
Monday, Penn State's former leader slipped to 12th on the NCAA coaching wins list.
The sanctions against Penn State by the NCAA included those that forced the school to vacate the 112 wins it accrued from 1998 to 2011. Paterno won 111 of those games, including a 10-7 win over Illinois last Oct. 29, the last game Paterno would coach at the school. Interim head coach Tom Bradley picked up the other, a 20-14 win at Ohio State last Nov. 19.
Paterno's win total drops from 409 to 298, placing him 12th all-time, seventh among Division I coaches and fifth among I-A coaches. Former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who had 12 wins of his own vacated, is now officially recognized as the Division I-A wins leader with 377. Former Grambling coach Eddie Robinson, who has 408 wins, regains his status as the winningest coach in Division I history.
Penn State's last official victory is now the win over Wisconsin on Nov. 22, 1997. Its last official bowl win is its 38-15 defeat of Texas in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 1997.
The Paterno family released a statement Monday expressing strong discontent with the NCAA's actions.
"The sanctions announced by the NCAA today defame the legacy and contributions of a great coach and educator without any input from our family or those who knew him best," the statement read. "That the President, the Athletic Director and the Board of Trustees accepted this unprecedented action by the NCAA without requiring a full due process hearing before the Committee on Infractions is an abdication of their responsibilities and a breach of their fiduciary duties to the University and the 500,000 alumni. Punishing past, present and future students of the University because of Sandusky’s crimes does not serve justice. This is not a fair or thoughtful action; it is a panicked response to the public's understandable revulsion at what Sandusky did."
Some of Paterno's former players reacted to the sanctions on Twitter on Monday.
"They can take away whatever games they want to," tweeted former wide receiver Derek Moye. "I know I was apart of win 400 409 and all the other games WE won while at PSU."
"That 400th win was still one of the most special games I ever played in," tweeted former offensive tackle Quinn Barham.
