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EDUCATION

AP PHOTOS: Penn State's Joe Paterno reinstated as winningest coach in college football

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    FILE - In this Nov. 5, 2005, file photo, Penn State football coach Joe Paterno acknowledges the crowd before an NCAA college football game against Wisconsin in State College, Pa. A proposed settlement, announced Friday, Jan. 16, 2015, by the NCAA, will give Penn State back 112 football team wins that were vacated two years ago in the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal. If approved, the new agreement also would restore former coach Paterno's status as the winningest coach in major college football history with 409 victories. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) (The Associated Press)

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    FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2010 file photo, Penn State coach Joe Paterno is carried off the field by his players after getting his 400th collegiate coaching win after their 38-21 victory over Northwestern in an NCAA college football game in State College, Pa. A proposed settlement, announced Friday, Jan. 16, 2015, by the NCAA, will give Penn State back 112 football team wins that were vacated two years ago in the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal. If approved, the new agreement also would restore former coach Paterno's status as the winningest coach in major college football history with 409 victories. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File) (The Associated Press)

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    FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2014, file photo, a banner celebrating the 409 wins of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno waves over the parking lot outside Beaver Stadium before an NCAA college football game against Temple in State College, Pa. A proposed settlement, announced Friday, Jan. 16, 2015, by the NCAA, will give Penn State back 112 football team wins that were vacated two years ago in the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal. If approved, the new agreement also would restore former coach Paterno's status as the winningest coach in major college football history with 409 victories. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File) (The Associated Press)

In one of the biggest scandals in college sports history, retired Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested in 2011 on charges that he serially molested young boys, with some of the assaults taking place on campus. A subsequent investigation by former FBI Director Louis Freeh asserted that renowned head coach Joe Paterno and top university officials had covered up the abuse.

Paterno, 85, was fired a few days after Sandusky's arrest and died two months later. Relying on Freeh's report, the NCAA leveled harsh sanctions against the school. Paterno's family and many alumni argued that Freeh rushed to judgment and that his report was factually incorrect. Last fall, the NCAA restored Penn State's bowl eligibility and athletic scholarships and, on Friday, agreed to reinstate 112 victories to the team — once again making Paterno the winningest coach in major college football history.

Here's a selection of photos from Paterno's long career.
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