Penn State trustees fired football coach Joe Paterno and university president Graham Spanier amid the growing furor over how the school handled sex abuse allegations against an assistant coach.
The massive shakeup Wednesday night came hours after Paterno announced that he planned to retire at the end of his 46th season.
Paterno holds the record for most wins by an FBS football coach with 409 over his career, and he has been the head coach at Penn State since 1966.
Recent allegations against a former assistant coach at Penn State have put a dark cloud over Paterno’s administration. Former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was indicted on 40 counts of sexually assaulting underage boys, and timeliness of Paterno’s reporting of the incident, along with the reaction of the administration at Penn State upon the report, have been central to the controversy.
Paterno released a statement Wednesday saying:
I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief.
I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today.
That’s why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.
This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.
My goals now are to keep my commitments to my players and staff and finish the season with dignity and determination. And then I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this University.
