Joe Paterno Career Record: NCAA Restores Wins

Joe Paterno

Joe Paterno lost over 100 career wins when Penn State jumped into headlines after former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was accused — and later found guilty — of 45 counts of child sexual abuse.

Paterno and Bobby Bowden, most notedly from Florida State, were going back and forth at the top of the list prior to the scandal. Before it, Paterno had 409 wins and Bowden had 357. When Sandusky was convicted and Paterno was believed to have known about the abuse while it was happening, the NCAA took away 111 of his wins, dropping him to 298.

On Friday, the NCAA announced those wins will be restored to his record, putting him back at the top of the list. ESPN announced that the settlement was proposed by the NCAA, and has beenĀ approved. The approval invalidated the consent decree that was agreed on. The two sides were set to meet in court in a few weeks for a trial.

ESPN also said the Penn State board will held a private meeting today to discuss the settlement.

Paterno died of lung cancer on January 22, 2012. Sandusky is currently serving a 442 year sentence.