NCAA lifts Penn State's bowl ban, full scholarships to be restored in 2015
Penn State’s bowl ban was immediately lifted and the program’s full allotment of 85 scholarships will be restored for the 2015-16 season, the NCAA announced Monday.
The decision came following the latest report on the university from former U.S. senator George Mitchell, who was assigned to monitor the school following the release of former FBI director Louis Freeh’s report on PSU's handling of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
“Due to Penn State University’s significant progress toward ensuring its athletics department functions with integrity, the NCAA Executive Committee today eliminated the school’s postseason ban, effective immediately, and will return the full complement of football scholarships in 2015-16,” the NCAA’s statement said.
The NCAA originally issued a four-year postseason ban for the football program that was set to conclude following the 2015 season. Aditionally, the program’s scholarships were reduced to the point where it could sign no more than 15 players for a period of four seasons.
In September 2013, the NCAA gave its initial reduction of the penalties that allowed the team to have 75 scholarship players this season, 80 in 2015 and the full 85 in 2016.
"Senator Mitchell's report and recommendations, along with the actions taken by the NCAA today, are the recognition of the hard work of many over the past two years to make Penn State a strong institution," said school president Eric Barron in a statement. "This is welcome news for the university community, particularly for our current and future student-athletes."
Added first-year head coach James Franklin: "We are very appreciative of the opportunities the NCAA and Big Ten have provided with today's announcement. This team plays for each other. We play for Penn State, our families, the former players, our students, alumni, fans and the community. We are so proud to represent Penn State and the Big Ten Conference and are working hard to prepare for our Big Ten opener at Rutgers."
Leadership from the NCAA executive committee met Monday with the NCAA Division I Board of Directors and the presidents of the Big Ten and “took a vote on the action.”
Mitchell detailed his work with the university and its compliance department and the Board of Directors subsequently “accepted Mitchell’s report and endorsed the Executive Committee’s action.”
“Penn State’s commitment to the integrity of its athletics department and its progress toward meeting the requirements of the Consent Decree are clear,” said Northern Arizona President Rita Hartung Cheng, who chaired Monday’s Executive Committee meeting. “We thank Senator Mitchell for his meticulous and exhaustive work over the past two years. Mitchell’s efforts and the dedication of Penn State officials made today’s decisions possible.”
“Penn State has made remarkable progress over the past year,” added Harris Pastides, Board member and University of South Carolina president. “The board members and I believe the Executive Committee’s decision is the right one. It allows both the university and the association to continue to move toward a common goal of ensuring that educating, nurturing and protecting young people is a top priority.”
The Big Ten also released a statement saying that it has “agreed to restore Penn State’s eligibility for the Big Ten Football Championship Game.”
"Following our briefing with Senator Mitchell, the COPC reached consensus agreement to support his latest recommendation and also agreed to restore the school’s eligibility for the Big Ten Football Championship Game, which ran concurrently with the NCAA postseason bowl ban” said Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors Chair and Iowa President Sally Mason. "We support the NCAA announcement acting on that recommendation, thank Senator Mitchell for his dedicated service and appreciate Penn State’s ongoing commitment to improvement."
Sandusky, a longtime Penn State defensive coordinator who retired from coaching in 1999, was convicted in July 2012 on 45 counts of sexually abusing 10 boys. The university commissioned Freeh to conduct a thorough investigation into how the university and the athletic department handled the Sandusky situation.
Freeh’s report alleged that several university officials, including former president Graham Spanier, former vice president Gary Schultz and former athletic director Tim Curley, were involved in covering up Sandusky’s crimes. The three former administrators are awaiting trial.
A few weeks after the Freeh Report was released, in July 2012, NCAA president Mark Emmert levied the sanctions against Penn State, which also included vacating 111 of legendary PSU coach Joe Paterno’s wins and a $60 million fine.
Paterno’s son, Scott, told ESPN’s Joe Schad that a Paterno family lawsuit against the NCAA and Penn State will continue. Additionally, Scott said he is “hopeful and certain” that his father’s victories will be restored “at some time.”
The sanctions also allowed, Penn State players were also given the opportunity to transfer elsewhere, but the majority of the team stayed together and the team won a combined 15 games in 2012 and 2013 under head coach Bill O’Brien.
O’Brien left the school for the NFL’s Houston Texans following the 2013 season and former Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin was hired.
Penn State, off to a 2-0 start this season, will open its Big Ten slate on the road at Rutgers on Saturday.
For more Penn State news, visit BlueandWhiteIllustrated.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
