While Joe Paterno has earned many accolades for his work on the football field, his many accomplishments off the field over the past sixty years have not gone unnoticed. He was honored again on Thursday night in San Antonio when he received the Gerald R. Ford Award at the annual NCAA convention.

The Ford Award honors an individual who has provided significant leadership as an advocate for intercollegiate athletics on a continuous basis throughout his or her career. Paterno, who started out at Penn State looking to implement the “Grand Experiment”, has certainly earned this award, consistently graduating nearly all of his players and putting a great product on the field.

In this age of coaches, with crossing the line to gain an advantage (we’re looking at you Lane Kiffin and Mike Leach) and students taking the easy way out instead of playing an honest four years (oh hey, Cam Newton), it is refreshing to see a coach be on the job for over 60 years without a violation, all while keeping the idea of the student-athlete in mind. Another well-deserved honor for Coach Paterno.

About the Author

Dan Vecellio

Dan is a graduate student in meteorology, hailing from Bradford, Pennsylvania. His interests include sports, Penn State and commons cheesesteaks. Feel free to contact me through my email or follow me on Twitter.

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