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Joseph Vincent Paterno (born December 21, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York), nicknamed JoePa, is the head coach of The Pennsylvania State University's college football team, a position he has held since 1966. Paterno, along with Chris Ault, Bobby Bowden and John Gagliardi, is one of four active coaches who have also been inducted in to the College Football Hall of Fame. Paterno holds the record for the most victories by a Division I FBS football coach. Paterno also has more bowl game wins and more FBS undefeated seasons than any other coach in college football history.
Early life
Joe Paterno grew up during the Great Depression. He nearly had to leave high school because the tuition of $20 a month was such a burden for his family. In 1944, Paterno graduated from Brooklyn Prep and headed to Brown University to study and play football.[2] At Brown he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. There, he was a capable but unspectacular quarterback and also played cornerback. He currently still shares, along with Greg Parker, the Brown University record for career interceptions with 14.[2] Paterno also played two years of basketball at Brown and was coached by Weeb Eubank. It was at Brown that he honed his skills as a leader, allowing him to go into coaching after graduation in 1950, joining Hall of Famer Rip Engle at Penn State as an assistant coach. Paterno thought his stint as an assistant coach would be brief, before going to law school. He never went to law school and instead became one of the most famous and recognizable coaches of any sport in the United States. Records and accomplishmentsAt age 81, Paterno is coaching his 59th season on the Penn State coaching staff in 2008, holding the record for most seasons for any football coach at any university. The 2008 season marks Joe Paterno’s 43rd as head coach of the Nittany Lions, passing Amos Alonzo Stagg for the most years as head coach at a single institution.[3] Paterno turned down an offer to coach the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969, an offer he initially seriously considered. (The Steelers ended up hiring Chuck Noll, who would win four Super Bowls with the team in a 23-year head coaching career.) Michigan Athletic Director Don Canham also contacted Paterno in 1969 to see if Paterno (whom Canham respected and knew personally) would accept the vacant Michigan job. Paterno turned down the offer and Michigan went on to hire Bo Schembechler. In 1972, Paterno also turned down a head coaching position with the New England Patriots, which included an ownership position. After five years of court battles, in November 2007, the Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System (PSERS) revealed Paterno's salary: $512,664. (He was paid $490,638 in 2006.[1]) The figure is not inclusive of other compensation, such as money from television and apparel contracts as well as other bonuses that Paterno and other football bowl subdivision coaches may earn, said Robert Gentzel, SERS communications director. The release of these amounts can only come at the university's approval, which Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers said will not happen. By comparison, the salary of Nick Saban, the highest paid college football coach during 2006-2007, was $4,000,000.[4] "I'm paid well, I'm not overpaid," Paterno said during an interview with reporters Wednesday before the salary disclosure. "I got all the money I need." Career recordWith Penn State's latest win against Michigan State,[5] Joe Paterno has a career record of 383 wins, 126 losses, and 3 ties. Based on the criteria used by the NCAA, Paterno holds the record for most victories by a Division I FBS football coach.[6]
Bowls and championshipsPaterno holds more bowl victories (23) than any coach in history. He also tops the list of bowl appearances with 35.[7] He has a bowl record of 23 wins, 10 losses, and 1 tie with his latest win in the 2007 Alamo Bowl. Paterno is the only coach with the distinction of having won each of the current four major bowls—Rose, Orange, Fiesta, and Sugar—as well as the Cotton Bowl, at least once. Under Paterno, Penn State has won at least three bowl games each decade since 1970. Overall, Paterno has led Penn State to two national championships (1982 and 1986) and five undefeated, untied seasons (1968, 1969, 1973, 1986, and 1994). Four of his unbeaten teams (1968, 1969, 1973, and 1994) won major bowl games and were not awarded a national championship. Penn State under Paterno has won the Orange Bowl (1968, 1969, 1973, and 2005), the Cotton Bowl (1972 and 1974), the Fiesta Bowl (1977, 1980, 1981, 1986, 1991, and 1996), the Liberty Bowl (1979), the Sugar Bowl (1982), the Aloha Bowl (1983), the Holiday Bowl (1989), the Citrus Bowl (1993), the Rose Bowl (1994), the Outback Bowl (1995, 1998, and 2006) and the Alamo Bowl (1999 and 2007). Since joining the Big Ten Conference in 1993, Penn State under Paterno has won the Big Ten championship three times (1994, 2005 and 2008). Paterno has had 21 finishes in the Top 10 national rankings. AwardsFollowing the 1986 championship season, Paterno was the first college football coach named "Sportsman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated magazine. In 2005, following an 11-1 comeback season in which the Lions won a share of the Big Ten title and a BCS berth, Paterno was named the 2005 AP Coach of the Year, and the 2005 Walter Camp Coach of the Year.
On May 16, 2006 Paterno was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame after the National Football Foundation decided to change its rules and allow any coach over the age of 75 to be eligible for the Hall of Fame instead of having to wait for an individual to be retired.[8] However, on November 4, 2006, he was injured during a sideline collision that occurred during a game against Wisconsin. As a result of his injuries, he was unable to travel to the induction ceremonies in New York City and the National Football Foundation announced that he would instead be inducted as a part of the Hall of Fame class of 2007.[9] Paterno was inducted on December 4, 2007,[10] and officially enshrined in a ceremony held July 19, 2008.[11] Officiating and instant replayIn 2002, Paterno chased down referee Dick Honig in a dead sprint following a 42-35 overtime home loss to Iowa. Paterno saw Tony Johnson catch a pass for a first down with both feet in bounds on the stadium's video replay board, but the play was ruled an incompletion; Penn State had rallied from a 35-13 deficit with 9 minutes left in the game to tie the score at 35, and were driving on their first possession in overtime for a touchdown to tie the game at 42. Penn State failed on fourth down and Iowa held on for the win.[12] Just weeks later, in the final minute of the Michigan game, the same wide receiver, Johnson, made a catch, which would have given Penn State a first down and put them in range for a game winning field goal. Although Johnson was ruled out of bounds, replays clearly showed that Johnson had both feet in bounds and the catch would have been complete.[13] In 2004, the Big Ten Conference became the first college football conference to adopt a form of instant replay. The previous two incidents, along with Paterno's public objections and statements, are often cited as catalysts for its adoption.[14] Within the next year, almost all of the Division I-A conferences adopted a form of instant replay based on the Big Ten model.[15] CriticismAs Penn State football struggled from 2000 to 2004, Paterno became the target of criticism from some Penn State faithful. Many in the media attributed Penn State's struggles to Paterno's advancing age, and contingents of fans and alumni began calling for his retirement. Paterno has rebuffed all of this and stated he would fulfill his contract which would expire in 2008.[16] Paterno announced in a speech in Pittsburgh on May 12, 2005 that he would consider retirement if the 2005 football team had a disappointing season. "If we don't win some games, I've got to get my rear end out of here", Paterno said in a speech at the Duquesne Club. "Simple as that".[17] However, Penn State took a share of the Big Ten title in 2005, gaining the team's first BCS bowl game bid in the Orange Bowl where Penn State defeated Bobby Bowden's Florida State Seminoles in triple overtime. Stances on college football issuesPaterno has long been an advocate for some type of college football playoff system. The question has been posed to him frequently over the years, as only one of his five undefeated teams has been voted national champions.[18][19][20] Paterno believes that scholarship college athletes should receive a modest stipend, so that they have some spending money. As justification, Paterno points out that many scholarship athletes are from poor families and that other students have time to hold down a part-time job. On the other hand, busy practice and conditioning schedules prevent college athletes from working during the school year.[21] Paterno once believed that all true freshmen should be redshirted as allowed under NCAA rules.[citation needed] However, he now plays exceptionally talented true freshmen so as not to be at a competitive disadvantage. In fact, some Penn State recruits, like recruits at many other schools, now graduate from high school a semester early so that they can enroll in college during the spring semester and participate in spring practice. Several team members from the recruiting class of 2005, including Justin King, Anthony Scirrotto and Derrick Williams, all received considerable playing time as true freshmen during the 2005-2006 season.[22] Paterno has been an outspoken opponent of gambling on college sports. He would like to see an end put to legalized college sports gambling in Nevada.[citation needed] Philanthropist and educationIn addition to his legacy as a coach, Paterno is highly regarded for his contributions to academic life at Penn State. After the announcement of his hiring in 1966, Paterno set out to conduct what he called a "Grand Experiment" in melding athletics and academics in the collegiate environment, an idea that he had learned during his years at Brown.[23] As a result, Penn State's players have consistently demonstrated above-average academic success compared to Division I-A schools nationwide. According to the NCAA's 2008 Graduation Rates Report, Penn State's four-year Graduation Success Rate of 78% easily exceeds the 67% Division I average, second to only Northwestern among Big Ten institutions.[24] Paterno is also renowned for his charitable contributions to academics at Penn State. He and his wife Sue have contributed over $4 million towards various departments and colleges, including support for the Penn State All-Sports Museum, which opened in 2002, and the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, which opened in 2003.[25] After helping raise over $13.5 million in funds for the 1997 expansion of Pattee Library, the University named the expansion Paterno Library in their honor.[26] In 2007, former player Franco Harris and his company R Super Foods recently honored Paterno for his contributions to Penn State by featuring his story and picture on boxes of Super Donuts and Super Buns in Central PA. A portion of the sales will be donated to an endowment fund for the university library that bears his name.[27] Political interestsPaterno is a political conservative and a personal friend of former President George H.W. Bush, endorsing the then-candidate in a speech at the 1988 Republican National Convention.[23] Paterno was also a close personal friend of the late President Gerald R. Ford. [28] In 2004, his son Scott Paterno, an attorney, won the Republican primary for Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district but lost in the November general election to Democratic incumbent Tim Holden.[29] PersonalJoe and Sue Paterno have five children, all of whom are Penn State graduates, and 16 grandchildren . See also
References
External links
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