In a statement released Sunday, Erickson called Paterno "a great man who made us a greater university."Įrickson said Paterno's "dedication to ensuring his players were successful both on the field and in life is legendary." Penn State president Rodney Erickson said the university is grieving Paterno's death and plans to honor him for his contributions to the school. The final days of Paterno's Penn State career were easily the toughest in his 61 years with the university and 46 seasons as head football coach. It is evident also in the thousands of successful student athletes who have gone on to multiply that impact as they spread out across the country." "That impact has been felt and appreciated by our family in the form of thousands of letters and well wishes along with countless acts of kindness from people whose lives he touched. "As the last 61 years have shown, Joe made an incredible impact," said the statement from the family. The second half of the two-day interview was conducted at his bedside. Paterno was described as frail then, speaking mostly in a whisper and wearing a wig. Not long before that, he conducted his only interview since losing his job, with The Washington Post. 13 for observation for what his family had called minor complications from his cancer treatments. Paterno had been in the hospital since Jan. A few weeks after that revelation, Paterno also broke his pelvis after a fall but did not need surgery. The cancer was diagnosed during a follow-up visit for a bronchial illness. 18 that his father was being treated for lung cancer. Jay Paterno, who served as his father's quarterbacks coach, was crying. Paterno's sons, Scott and Jay, arrived separately at the house late Sunday morning. And, indeed, the street was quiet on a cold winter day. The officers said the family had asked there be no public gathering outside the house, still decorated with a Christmas wreath, so Paterno's relatives could grieve privately. Two police officers were stationed to block traffic on the street where Paterno's modest ranch home stands next to a local park. "He will go down as the greatest football coach in the history of the game," Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said after his former team, the Florida Gators, beat Penn State 37-24 in the 2011 Outback Bowl. More than 250 of the players he coached went on to the NFL. The man known as "JoePa" won 409 games and took the Nittany Lions to 37 bowl games and two national championships. Paterno built his program on the credo "Success with Honor," and he found both. Paterno's son had said in November that his father had been diagnosed with a treatable form of lung cancer during a follow-up visit for a bronchial illness. The hospital said Paterno was surrounded by family members, who have requested privacy. Sunday of "metastatic small cell carcinoma of the lung." Metastatic indicates an illness that has spread from one part of the body to an unrelated area. Mount Nittany Medical Center said in a statement that Paterno died at 9:25 a.m. The Pennsylvania hospital where Paterno died confirmed the cause of death as a spreading lung cancer. He was a man devoted to his family, his university, his players and his community." His ambitions were far reaching, but he never believed he had to leave this Happy Valley to achieve them. "He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been. "He died as he lived," the statement said. His family released a statement Sunday morning to announce his death: "His loss leaves a void in our lives that will never be filled." Joe Paterno, the longtime Penn State coach who won more games than anyone in major college football but was fired amid a child sex abuse scandal that scarred his reputation for winning with integrity, died Sunday of lung cancer. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĬollege Football, Penn State Nittany Lions
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