This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Spangineer (talk | contribs) at 20:18, 28 June 2005 (reword recently added paragraph, added phrase about most wins at single university). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 20:18, 28 June 2005 by Spangineer (talk | contribs) (reword recently added paragraph, added phrase about most wins at single university)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Joseph Vincent Paterno (born December 21, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York), nicknamed Joe Pa, is a coach of The Pennsylvania State University's college football team.
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. His team went 5-5 for 1966, 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. In 1994, led by quarterback Kerry Collins, Paterno's team went undefeated for a fifth time. They were denied the national title, however, finishing second to undefeated Nebraska.
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 has amassed 343 wins, second in the NCAA's "Winningest All-Time Division I-A Coaches" category to only Bobby Bowden of Florida State'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 still holds the record for the most wins at a single university, and his 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 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.