LaVell Edwards: 'I was a little surprised, frankly' over Penn St. sanctions

SALT LAKE CITY — News of the sanctions taken against Penn State is reverberating across the country, as football fans consider what it would do to any college football program.

No one in Utah is more connected to Penn State and Joe Paterno than retired BYU Coach LaVell Edwards.

They coached in the same era and were both successful on the field and considered each other friends. Coach Edwards says he is surprised by the severity of the sanctions against Penn State, which will include a $60 million fine, the loss of 20 player scholarships and absence from any post-season play for four years.

"I thought it was pretty stiff," said Edwards. "I was a little surprised, frankly. However you feel about the severity, the bottom line is that it was a very serious mistake made of judgment to begin with, and this kind of thing never would have happened."

The sanctions come after what the NCAA called inaction on the university's part, to pursue reports of sexual abuse perpetrated by Jerry Sandusky, an assistant coach on the team, more than a decade ago.

But the NCAA didn't stop with the program's future.

It also penalized the past, against the winningest coach in college football, invalidating 111 wins of coach Joe Paterno, beginning in 1998, until he was fired back in November. Former BYU athletic director Val Hale believes the penalties against Penn State will impact fan support, and recruiting, and weaken the program forever.

"Every athletic program is in an arms race, and if you don't believe it, go watch them make their pitches to donors," Hale said. "We need better facilities, we need more money, this and that to get the finest athletes - if we don't get the finest athletes, we're going to lose."

Coach Edwards believes the sanctions will end Penn State's prestigious standing on the field.

"It's going to be interesting to see what happens to the Penn State football program," Edwards said. "I don't think we'll ever see it again as it has been these past number of years."

Coach Edwards did have a good friendship with Joe Paterno for a very long time, but he didn't want to comment about Paterno's wins being invalidated, or his statue being removed from campus.

This illustrates how college athletics has evolved over the years. This is big business. So much is at stake for the entire University. It's pressure the top leaders of Utah Universities are feeling all the time.

Just watching these Penn State students react to the NCAA penalties tells the story: It's not just about football games. It alters the Penn State experience. When asked what the worst part of the penalty was, one student responded: "Taking away his wins. I mean, we can help, obviously, the people that were affected by what Sandusky did, but... and I think we should help them... but taking away his wins is something you shouldn't do. Joe was a great guy."

Such deep feelings for such a winning coach are understandable. But even more devastating is the fact that the penalties could hurt Penn State's winning record.

That's because intercollegiate athletics has become big business.

"The pressure on them is just intense," Hale said.

Val Hale was BYU's athletic director for five years. He still has a passion for all the teams. Since Hale left BYU eight years ago, he estimates the overall program budget has doubled, to $40 million dollars. At the same time, young athletes, aggressive coaches, and unpredictable boosters can cause even more headaches, Hale says.

"Every athletic director sleeps with one eye open. …there are so many things that can go wrong that are outside the athletic director's control," said Hale.

At some universities, athletics is subsidized — some believe at the expense of the education that students get.

Contributing: Sam Penrod

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