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| '''Joseph Vincent Paterno''' (born ], ] in ]), nicknamed '''Joe Pa''', has been the headcoach of ]'s ] team since 1966. | '''Joseph Vincent Paterno''' (born ], ] in ]), nicknamed '''Joe Pa''', has been the headcoach of ]'s ] team since 1966. | ||
| Paterno began life as a child of the ]. He nearly had to leave high school because the tuition of $20 a month was such a burden for his family. In ], Paterno graduated from Brooklyn Prep and headed to ] to study and play ]. There, he was a capable but unspectacular ]. He did hone his skills as a leader, which allowed him to go into coaching after graduation in ], joining Hall of Famer ] at ] as an assistant coach. Upon Engle's retirement in ], Paterno was named coach of the Nittany Lions for the ] season. That year his team went 5-5, but the following season he led the Lions to 8 wins and the ]. Two years later, in ], Paterno had his first undefeated season, and repeated that achievement in ]. From ] to ], Paterno's teams made a bowl game after every season. He claimed his first national championship in ]. In ] he won another national championship after going 12-0, and he continued to field a top team throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. The ] team had the most powerful offense in the history of college football, with quarterback ], running backs Ki-Jana Carter, Mike Archy and Steven Pitts, wide receivers Bobby Engram, Freddy Scott and Joe Javarvicious, Tight End Kyle Brady and lineman Jeff Hartings, Paterno's team went undefeated for a fifth time. They were denied the national title, however, finishing second to undefeated ]. |
Paterno began life as a child of the ]. He nearly had to leave high school because the tuition of $20 a month was such a burden for his family. In ], Paterno graduated from Brooklyn Prep and headed to ] to study and play ]. There, he was a capable but unspectacular ]. He did hone his skills as a leader, which allowed him to go into coaching after graduation in ], joining Hall of Famer ] at ] as an assistant coach. Upon Engle's retirement in ], Paterno was named coach of the Nittany Lions for the ] season. That year his team went 5-5, but the following season he led the Lions to 8 wins and the ]. Two years later, in ], Paterno had his first undefeated season, and repeated that achievement in ]. From ] to ], Paterno's teams made a bowl game after every season. He claimed his first national championship in ]. In ] he won another national championship after going 12-0, and he continued to field a top team throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. | ||
| The ] team had the most powerful offense in the history of college football, with quarterback ], running backs Ki-Jana Carter, Mike Archy and Steven Pitts, wide receivers Bobby Engram, Freddy Scott and Joe Javarvicious, Tight End Kyle Brady and lineman Jeff Hartings, Paterno's team went undefeated for a fifth time. They were denied the national title, however, finishing second to undefeated ]. In response to being snubbed by pole voters, The General Assembly of Pennsylvania unanimously passed a symbolic proclemation, which was signed by Governor ], declaring Penn State the 1994 college football national champions. | |||
| Most neutral observers believe that Penn State had a better team than Nebraska in 1994, as evidenced by superior statistics against a tougher schedule, but that Nebraska was, nonetheless, awarded the 1994 national championship by pole voters because venerable Cornhuskers Coach ] had never won a national championship at that point in his distinguished career, while Paterno had already won the title twice. Cornhusker fans feel otherwise, conceeding that their 1994 team's offense was not nearly as good as Penn State's record-setting jugernaut, but that their defense was considerably better than an uncharacteristically mediocre 1994 Penn State defense, which had to be bailed out by the offense in several games. Nebraska and Penn State could not decide the issue on the field, because contractual obligations at the time required ] champion Penn State to play in the ] against the ] champion, while ] (now ]) champion Nebraska was locked into the ]. | |||
| Still coaching at age 78, Paterno has completed his 55th season at the University as an assistant or head coach, the record for any football coach at any university. Following the 2004 season, Paterno had amassed 343 wins, second in the ]'s "Winningest All-Time Division I-A Coaches" category to ] coach ]'s 351 wins. Some Joe Pa loyalists argue that 31 of Bowden's wins should not be counted as they came while Bowden was the head coach at Howard College, which is now Samford University, a Division I-AA football program. However, during Bowden's tenure at Howard, there were no distinctions bewteen Divison 1 and Division 1-AA in college football. Bowden is credited with the record because the NCAA rule states that to be eligible for the record one needs 10 years at a Division I-A school, at which point all wins at any four-year school are counted toward the career total. Paterno's 20 wins in bowl games give him the all-time lead among Division I-A coaches; Bowden is second with 19 bowl wins. | Still coaching at age 78, Paterno has completed his 55th season at the University as an assistant or head coach, the record for any football coach at any university. Following the 2004 season, Paterno had amassed 343 wins, second in the ]'s "Winningest All-Time Division I-A Coaches" category to ] coach ]'s 351 wins. Some Joe Pa loyalists argue that 31 of Bowden's wins should not be counted as they came while Bowden was the head coach at Howard College, which is now Samford University, a Division I-AA football program. However, during Bowden's tenure at Howard, there were no distinctions bewteen Divison 1 and Division 1-AA in college football. Bowden is credited with the record because the NCAA rule states that to be eligible for the record one needs 10 years at a Division I-A school, at which point all wins at any four-year school are counted toward the career total. Paterno's 20 wins in bowl games give him the all-time lead among Division I-A coaches; Bowden is second with 19 bowl wins. | ||
Revision as of 05:46, 4 July 2005
Joseph Vincent Paterno (born December 21, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York), nicknamed Joe Pa, has been the headcoach of The Pennsylvania State University's college football team since 1966.
Paterno began life as a child of the Depression. He nearly had to leave high school because the tuition of $20 a month was such a burden for his family. In 1944, Paterno graduated from Brooklyn Prep and headed to Brown University to study and play football. There, he was a capable but unspectacular quarterback. He did hone his skills as a leader, which allowed him to go into coaching after graduation in 1950, joining Hall of Famer Rip Engle at Penn State as an assistant coach. Upon Engle's retirement in 1965, Paterno was named coach of the Nittany Lions for the 1966 season. That year his team went 5-5, but the following season he led the Lions to 8 wins and the Gator Bowl. Two years later, in 1968, Paterno had his first undefeated season, and repeated that achievement in 1969. From 1973 to 1983, Paterno's teams made a bowl game after every season. He claimed his first national championship in 1982. In 1986 he won another national championship after going 12-0, and he continued to field a top team throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s.
The 1994 team had the most powerful offense in the history of college football, with quarterback Kerry Collins, running backs Ki-Jana Carter, Mike Archy and Steven Pitts, wide receivers Bobby Engram, Freddy Scott and Joe Javarvicious, Tight End Kyle Brady and lineman Jeff Hartings, Paterno's team went undefeated for a fifth time. They were denied the national title, however, finishing second to undefeated Nebraska. In response to being snubbed by pole voters, The General Assembly of Pennsylvania unanimously passed a symbolic proclemation, which was signed by Governor Tom Ridge, declaring Penn State the 1994 college football national champions.
Most neutral observers believe that Penn State had a better team than Nebraska in 1994, as evidenced by superior statistics against a tougher schedule, but that Nebraska was, nonetheless, awarded the 1994 national championship by pole voters because venerable Cornhuskers Coach Tom Osborne had never won a national championship at that point in his distinguished career, while Paterno had already won the title twice. Cornhusker fans feel otherwise, conceeding that their 1994 team's offense was not nearly as good as Penn State's record-setting jugernaut, but that their defense was considerably better than an uncharacteristically mediocre 1994 Penn State defense, which had to be bailed out by the offense in several games. Nebraska and Penn State could not decide the issue on the field, because contractual obligations at the time required Big 10 champion Penn State to play in the Rose Bowl against the Pac 10 champion, while Big 8 (now Big 12) champion Nebraska was locked into the Orange Bowl.
Still coaching at age 78, Paterno has completed his 55th season at the University as an assistant or head coach, the record for any football coach at any university. Following the 2004 season, Paterno had amassed 343 wins, second in the NCAA's "Winningest All-Time Division I-A Coaches" category to Florida State coach Bobby Bowden's 351 wins. Some Joe Pa loyalists argue that 31 of Bowden's wins should not be counted as they came while Bowden was the head coach at Howard College, which is now Samford University, a Division I-AA football program. However, during Bowden's tenure at Howard, there were no distinctions bewteen Divison 1 and Division 1-AA in college football. Bowden is credited with the record because the NCAA rule states that to be eligible for the record one needs 10 years at a Division I-A school, at which point all wins at any four-year school are counted toward the career total. Paterno's 20 wins in bowl games give him the all-time lead among Division I-A coaches; Bowden is second with 19 bowl wins.
With his program not as successful as in the past, Paterno has endured a controversial period with the media and many disgruntled fans and alumni calling for his retirement. Paterno has rebuffed all calls for his retirement and has stated he will fulfill his contract which runs out in 2006. Paterno announced in a speech in Pittsburgh on May 12, 2005 that he will consider retirement if the 2005 football team has a disappointing season. "If we don't win some games, I've got to get my rear end out of here", Paterno said in a speech at the Duquesne Club. "Simple as that".
Paterno is highly regarded for his contributions to academics as well as his football coaching. In the 1970s, Paterno began a "Grand Experiment", requiring his players to excel in academics as well as football. Over the decades, Penn State's football players consistently had above-average graduation rates that were often among the top 10 in Division I-A. Additionally, in 2000, he and wife Sue gave Penn State $3.5 million to expand the library, and the expanded wing (formerly East Pattee Library) was named the Paterno Library in their honor.
Paterno is a poltical conservative and is a personal friend of George H.W. Bush, endorsing the first president Bush in a speech at the 1988 Republican Convention. Some people believed that it was not appropriate for a publically-funded university's most famous faculty member to campaign for a presidential candidate. In 2004, his Generation-X son Scott Paterno won a hotly contested Republican congressional primary election, but lost in the general election to Baby-Boomer conservative Democratic incumbent Tim Holden.