State College, PA – Penn State head football coach Bill O'Brien received an automatic four-year contract extension, a deal that was agreed upon in January in case the school received NCAA sanctions.
The Centre Daily Times was one of several media sources to report the extension for O'Brien, who is signed through the 2020 season.
On Monday, the NCAA slapped Penn State with a four-year postseason ban, five years of probation and a massive scholarship reduction over the next four years as part of the penalties stemming from the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal and the Freeh Report, which revealed the university's failure to collectively respond to allegations against the former assistant football coach who was convicted last month.
The newspaper reports the coach's contract, signed by O'Brien and interim athletics director David Joyner, reads in part that the extension and bonus package would equal the number of years of the sanctions.
Penn State is also ineligible for the Big Ten championship. The Nittany Lions will begin the 2012 season on September 1 at Beaver Stadium against Ohio University.
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