The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) hit Penn’s gridiron programme with a $60 million penalty -- equal to the football team’s average gross annual revenue – and ordered reforms in corporate governance, including sweeping changes to its general counsel office.

Football revered

According to Corporate Counsel magazine, the move comes in response to last month’s trial that found Jerry Sandusky guilty of 45 counts of sexual abuse against 10 young men. The sanctions also demand that the university adopts every recommendation made in a report released earlier this month by Louis Freeh, the former FBI director who conducted an internal investigation at Penn State.
Mr Freeh revealed a series of failures by the university’s leadership to take action on the Sandusky complaints. In particular it singled out former Supreme Court Justice Cynthia Baldwin – who last month finished her two-and-a-half year term as the university’s general counsel – for mishandling the case. The report concluded that failures stemmed from a culture in which football was highly revered and consequently became too powerful on campus.
Other sanctions include a four-year ban on post-season play, a reduction in football scholarships and the elimination of more than 100 Penn State victories – spanning more than 10 years -- from the record books.

Cultural change

The magazine reported that NCAA President Mark Emmert told a press conference in Indianapolis: ‘The sanctions needed to reflect our goals of providing cultural change.’
Penn State president Rodney Erickson said the school consented to the sanctions, adding: ‘We must create a culture in which people are not afraid to speak up, management is not compartmentalised, all are expected to demonstrate the highest ethical standards, and the operating philosophy is open.’