College football roundup: Texas great Royal dies, Penn State's Spanier arraigned
Darrell Royal, the winningest coach in Texas football history and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, has died in Austin, Texas, the university announced Wednesday. He was 88.
Royal had suffered from Alzheimer's disease and, according to news reports, had fallen recently at a care facility.
The legendary coach, who was 32 when he took the Texas job, compiled a 167-47-5 record in his 20 seasons with the Longhorns and won three national championships and 11 Southwest Conference titles. His record during that span was the best in college football.
Royal concurrently served as the school's athletic director from 1962 to 1979 and then served the program as a special assistant. He also worked as an analyst on college football telecasts.
In 1996, the school named its football stadium Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in his honor.
Known for his wishbone offenses and potent ground games, Royal led the Longhorns to undefeated seasons and national titles in 1963 and 1969 and a share of the 1970 national championship. His teams had a 30-game winning streak starting in 1968.
Before coming to Texas, Royal played halfback for Oklahoma in his native state and coached at Mississippi State and Washington.
---Former Penn State president Graham Spanier was arraigned Wednesday morning in Harrisburg, Pa., on charges stemming from the Jerry Sandusty child sex-abuse scandal.
District Court Judge William Wenner set Spanier's bail at $125,000 and tentatively scheduled a Nov. 16 preliminary hearing. Spanier also was instructed to surrender his passport and restrict his travel outside Pennsylvania, PennLive.com reported.
The charges against Spanier include obstruction, endangering the welfare of children and perjury.
Spanier is accused of trying to cover up Sandusky's sexual molestations of boys, some of which occurred in the school's football facilities.
Sandusky was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison last month.
PennLive.com reported that Spanier didn't acknowledge reporters outside Wenner's office when he arrived or left with his wife, Sandra.
One of Spanier's lawyers, Elizabeth Ainslie, criticized the prosecution.
"They called it a conspiracy of silence. That is ridiculous," Ainslie said, according to PennLive.com. "Spanier was never given a chance to speak to this grand jury and give his side of the story. We look forward to the chance to present his side of the story."
