STATE COLLEGE, Penn. — Joe Paterno could soon be regain his title as the winningest coach in college football.
The 111 wins that the NCAA voided when it sanctioned Penn State University after the Jerry Sandusky scandal could soon be restored as part of a proposed settlement with the NCAA.
The settlement is part of a lawsuit filed by Pennsylvania state Sen. Jake Corman. The suit began as a way to force the $60 million fine money the NCAA levied on Penn State to stay within the state of Pennsylvania, but it became a way to give Penn State supporters a place to legally challenge the validity of the sanctions.
Among them, the most controversial, was the loss of Paterno’s wins between 1998, when the first report of abuse against Sandusky was made, to 2011, when Sandusky was charged with abusing 10 boys, many of them on campus.
Sandusky was convicted in 2012 of abusing the victims and is serving a 30- to 60-year sentence, which means he will probably spend the rest of his life behind bars. The same year, Paterno died at age 85.
