| Joe Paterno | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Angelo Di Maria |
| Year | 2001 |
| Type | Bronze sculpture |
| Dimensions | 2.1 m(7 ft) |
| Location | State College, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Joe Paterno is a bronze sculpture of Joe Paterno, former head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football team. It was located on the northeast side of Beaver Stadium on the campus of the Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania until it was removed in 2012 in the aftermath of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal.
The statue was commissioned by friends of Paterno and his wife Sue in recognition of his contributions to the university and was unveiled on November 2, 2001. It was sculpted by Angelo Di Maria of Reading, Pennsylvania and took 2–3 months to complete. [1] [2]
The statue is 7 feet (2.1 m) high and weighs 900 pounds (410 kg). [2] It was accompanied by a stone wall in three sections. The left section of the wall read, "Joseph Vincent Paterno: Educator, Coach, Humanitarian". The center section showed a bas-relief of players running behind Paterno. On the right was a quote from Paterno, "They ask me what I'd like written about me when I'm gone. I hope they write I made Penn State a better place, not just that I was a good football coach." The right section also featured plaques with lists of games Paterno had coached at Penn State from 1966 to 2011. [1] [3]
Following the 2011 Penn State child sex abuse scandal, there were widespread calls for the statue to be removed, including by Paterno's friend and longtime Florida State coach Bobby Bowden. [4] At one point, an anonymous individual chartered a plane to fly over State College for several hours with a banner that read Take the Statue Down or We Will. [5]
On July 22, 2012, six months after Paterno's death, the university announced it had removed the statue and "store[d] it in a secure location", [6] citing that it had become a "source of division and an obstacle to healing". [7] The accompanying plaques, bas-relief, and quotations were removed as well. [8] According to Penn State President Rodney Erickson, "were it to remain, the statue will be a recurring wound to the multitude of individuals across the nation and beyond who have been the victims of child abuse". [6]
Joseph Vincent Paterno, sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2011. With 409 victories, Paterno is the most victorious coach in NCAA FBS history. He recorded his 409th victory on October 29, 2011; his career ended with his dismissal from the team on November 9, 2011, as a result of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. He died 74 days later, of complications from lung cancer.
Graham Basil Spanier is a South African-born American sociologist and university administrator who became the 16th president of Pennsylvania State University on September 1, 1995. On November 9, 2011, in the wake of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal, Spanier and longtime football coach Joe Paterno were “removed from their positions” by the Penn State board of trustees.
The Pennsylvania State University is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, in 1863, Penn State was named the state's first land-grant university. Its primary campus, known as Penn State University Park, is located in State College and College Township in Pennsylvania.
The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. The Nittany Lions compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference, which they joined in 1993 after playing as an Independent from 1892 to 1992.
The 1986 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University as an independent during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 21st-year head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions compiled a record of 12–0. Penn State defeated the Miami Hurricanes, 14–10, in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl to win Paterno's second consensus national championship. The team was named national champion by AP, Billingsley, FB News, FW, Matthews, NCF, NFF, Sporting News, UPI, and USA/CNN, while named co-champion by FACT, Sagarin (ELO-Chess).
The 1998 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
The 1982 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University during the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season. Penn State defeated the Georgia Bulldogs, 27–23, in the Sugar Bowl to win Joe Paterno's first consensus national championship. The team was selected national champion by AP, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, FACT, FB News, Football Research, FW, Litkenhous, Matthews, NCF, NFF, The New York Times, Poling, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess), Sporting News, UPI/coaches, and USA/CNN, while named co-champion by Helms.
The 1996 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
The 1976 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
The 1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
Gerald Arthur Sandusky is an American convicted serial child molester and retired college football coach.
The Nittany Lion Shrine is a large mountain lion sculpture carved by Heinz Warneke located at the University Park campus of Pennsylvania State University.
The George Munger Award is presented to the NCAA Division I college football coach of the year by the Maxwell Football Club. The award was named after former University of Pennsylvania head coach George Munger. People who voted for the winners of the award included NCAA head coaches, members of the Maxwell Club, and sportswriters from all over the country.
Onward State is a student-run news website geared toward members of the Penn State community in Pennsylvania. The website provides news, features, and commentary on issues impacting Penn State and State College. Onward State has published more than 34,000 stories since its founding in November 2008. It was voted the "Best Alternative Media Outlet" in a February 2009 online contest by U.S. News & World Report. Onward State has been cited in the New York Times, USA TODAY, ESPN, The Washington Post, and many other national news outlets. The Associated Press has described Onward State as "one of Penn State's smarter, if sometimes-snarky blogs."
The 2011 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno for the first nine games until he was fired in the wake of the Penn State sex abuse scandal, with defensive coordinator Tom Bradley taking over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. The team played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, US. They were members of the Big Ten Conference in the newly formed Leaders Division. They finished the season 9–4, 6–2 in the Leaders Division to be co–division champions with Wisconsin. Due to their head-to-head loss to Wisconsin, they did not represent the division in the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game. They were invited to the TicketCity Bowl where they lost to Houston 14–30.
The Penn State child sex abuse scandal concerned allegations and subsequent convictions of child sexual abuse committed by Jerry Sandusky, an assistant coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team, over a period of at least fifteen years. The scandal began to emerge publicly in March 2011 and broke in early November 2011 when Sandusky was indicted on 52 counts of child molestation, stemming from incidents that occurred between 1994 and 2009. Sandusky was ultimately convicted on 45 counts of child sexual abuse on June 22, 2012, and was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of 60 years in prison.
Rodney Allen Erickson is an American academic administrator who served as the 17th president of Pennsylvania State University from 2011 to 2014. Formerly executive vice president and provost, he was named interim president of Penn State on November 9, 2011, after previous president Graham Spanier was forced to resign in the wake of the Penn State sex abuse scandal, after which the "interim" tag was removed later that month. The Food Science Building at Penn State, which houses the Berkey Creamery, is named after Erickson.
Timothy M. Curley is a former athletic director for Penn State University.
David M. Joyner, an orthopedic physician and a former member of the Penn State University Board of Trustees, is a former athletic director for Penn State.
Paterno is a 2018 American television drama film directed by Barry Levinson. It stars Al Pacino as former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, and his career leading up to his dismissal following the university's child sex abuse scandal in 2011. Riley Keough, Kathy Baker, Greg Grunberg and Annie Parisse also star. The film premiered on HBO on April 7, 2018.
I now believe that, contrary to its original intention, Coach Paterno's statue has become a source of division and an obstacle to healing in our University and beyond. For that reason, I have decided that it is in the best interest of our university and public safety to remove the statue and store it in a secure location. I believe that, were it to remain, the statue will be a recurring wound to the multitude of individuals across the nation and beyond who have been the victims of child abuse.