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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.
Early Life
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.
Head Coach at Penn State
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.
1994 Team Denied a National Championship
The 1994 team featured one of PSU's best offenses, 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. The 1994 Nittany Lions went undefeated for a fifth time in Paterno's tenure. 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.
Records and Controversies
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".
Philanthropist & Educator
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, he and wife Sue have donated $250,000 to expand the library and helped raise another $13.5 million for its construction. The expanded wing (formerly East Pattee Library) was named the Paterno Library in their honor.
Political Interests
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.