The NCAA lifted Penn State’s postseason ban and restored scholarships for next season on Monday.
Penn State lost is football scholarships and was banned from the postseason in 2012 after the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Penn State was halfway through a four-year postseason ban. Now they will be eligible for the postseason starting with this season. In addition to being eligible for the postseason again, the school will have full complement of football scholarships next year.Last year the NCAA had rescinded some of the scholarship sanctions. However Penn State must still pay a $60 million fine, the 111 wins under Joe Paterno and one win under Tom Bradley remain vacated, and the school will still be monitored, according to the Associated Press. The NCAA’s decision came after former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, whose Penn State’s athletics integrity monitor, recommended the moves after he concluded that the school is in compliance with a 2012 agreement and consent decree.
"Through the second year of the Consent Decree, Penn State has not wavered in this commitment. The initiatives undertaken in the first year have begun to take root as a result of Penn State's continuing focus on these reforms,” Mitchell wrote in his two year progress report, USA Today notes.
Senator Mitchell's report and recommendations, along with the actions taken by the NCAA today, are a recognition of the hard work of many over the past two years to make Penn State a stronger institution,'' Penn State President Eric Barron said in a statement. ''This is welcome news for the university community, particularly for our current and future student-athletes.''
A lawsuit against the NCAA and Penn State will go on as planned despite the reduction in sanctions according to Scott Paterno, ESPN reports.
Penn State was 15-9 during the first two years of the sanctions with Bill O’Brien as the coach. O’Brien left the school at the end of last season for the Houston Texans. James Franklin is now the coach for Penn State. This season Penn State is 2-0.