Joe Paterno

Joseph Vincent “Joe” Paterno (1926–2012) was an American college football coach best known for leading the Penn State Nittany Lions. He joined Penn State’s coaching staff in 1950 and became head coach in 1966, a position he held until 2011. Under Paterno, Penn State won two national championships (1982, 1986) and multiple conference titles, and he became one of the winningest head coaches in major college football. He was widely associated with the program’s emphasis on academics and the nickname “Success with Honor.” In 2011, amid the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, Penn State’s board dismissed Paterno.