The part that really sticks out to me in the ESPN story on the Freeh report is this:

"It went so far that this Penn State four could no longer keep their lies, their corrupted priorities, in order. It went so bad that even the power -- that so often does whatever it can to protect itself -- could no longer deny all that the trusted had not done and had to request outside review that produced a numbing, devastating self-criticism that makes it impossible to deny what must be done."

 

 

"Penn State cannot be allowed to have a football team.

"A culture of reverence for the football program that is ingrained at all levels of the campus community."  -- Page 17 [Emphasis mine]

 

 

After giving this some thought I think that I agree with those who say that Penn State should voluntarily disband it's football program or at least bust it down to FCS level or lower.

The fact of the matter is that we have seen over and over again the corrupting influence that big time athletics has on so-called institutions of higher education.  PSU is only the latest, and most extreme, example.

  I think it has come to the point that at many schools the university exists to support the athletics program instead of vice versa.  We have even seen certain signs of this at our own beloved Ohio University with the increases in student activity fees to support inter-collegiate athletics.  

The entire system is now as corrupt as can be.  If the NCAA was really serious about preserving the integrity of inter-collegiate athletics they should start with a top-to-bottom review of the whole *&(%$#&*(*& system.  What justifies treating our colleges and universities as minor-league training grounds for professional sports franchises?  The U.S. is the only country in the world where this phenomenon exists.  In Europe, if you are good enough to be considered a pro soccer prospect, you sign up for a third or fourth division team and work your way up to the big leagues.  Baseball in this country isn't too different.

Butt football, and perhaps to a lesser extent, basketball (unless you're a Kentucky or Duke)  have resources committed to them that far exceed their real value if we view colleges and universities in the light of what they are supposed to be.

Do Harvard, Yale and Princeton suffer diminished reputations because they don't win the BCS championship year in and year out?  Do we think of Oxford, Cambridge or The Sorbonne as great universities because they field winning basketball teams every year?  Of course not.

The point I am making here is that the whole PSU mess is just what I hope is the ultimate example of everything wrong with inter-collegiate athletics and that there is a need for fundamental reform.  Take the money out of it and I think you'll see a return to sanity, if we ever really had it.

I agree with the above. The more I think about it, they really need to suspend the program, at least for a season. This is so much bigger than football - so much. The fact that Paterno and administrators helped to cover up a child molester for 14 seasons is just sickening.

Whether or not the NCAA gets involved, I think the "right" thing to do is to step back and not play this season. Any other way, it just won't be right.

Though it would be the right thing to do, I don't see any way that they cancel the season. I could see possibly a postseason ban or scholarship reduction, but no death penalty.

What does everyone think will ultimately happen? Will the NCAA step in?

I don't see that...schedules are set years in advance. There's no way that anyone could have seen this coming. FYI, the other non-conference teams on Penn State's schedule are...

Virginia
Navy
Temple

Interesting fact: according to this source, Penn State is NOT protected by sovereign immunity http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2012/07/penn-states-civil-liability-may-be-tied-to-supreme-court-precedents/ 

"You're very short sited if you think taking football out of State College PA hurts just the current football roster.  Every other team at Penn State, with the exception of basketball, relies on the football team making money to survive."

You just made my point for me.  This is EXACTLY why is should be shut down.  At Penn State the importance of the football program created a culture that enabled several individuals (more than the five you mention) to not only turn the other way, but to cover up hanus actions.  Do I feel sorry for local businesses, etc, who depend on the football team to make their livelihood?  Of course, but much more than that I feel bad for the boys and families of the boys who have to sit back and watch people make their livelihood of the product that directly caused so much pain. 

If Penn State donations are truly as high right now as they say they are then they can directly funnel them to the other sports to keep those running.  At this time, though, I would think Penn State should be more worried about whether the university itself will survive, and less about how the field hockey and golf teams are affected.  If the football team remains with only a few minor penalties, as you suggest, the importance and emphasis placed on football will continue to make it the imdomitable program that it has been, and nothing will change.  Not only does the NCAA have a right and a need to step in and make an example of this to all other programs, but Penn State themselves should be worried about their very survival as a academic institution. 

Of course I agree what happed at Baylor, and the other places you mention are horrific.  I'm not saying those situations are not worthy of the same punishment, but I'm speaking about Penn State at this time.  Failure to act in the past does not justify the failure to act in this case. 

I agree... if anything when Ohio beats Penn State we will be celebrated even more for beating them.

You keep making arguments as to why Penn State should disband its football program (and sometimes its athletic department in toto), or that it may be forced to. I'm pointing out why your arguments are unlikely to come to pass.

Edit: And if you've really got such a problem with the level of emphasis that a university, ANY university, puts on athletics, then maybe a college-sports bulletin board isn't the best place to spend your time on a monday late morning

Edit 2: What the heck, I'll max-out my cynicism today. I know that PSU was founded at a higher educational institute. But I'm not a PSU alum, current student, or potential future student. I'm not on the faculty there, nor am I a tax payer in the state of Pennsylvania or trying to decide if I want to hire a PSU grad. In short, I have absolutely no connection and zero care for the educational reputation of penn state. The only actual concern I have for Penn State at the moment, in fact, to be able to watch them (on tv) lose to us on September 1st and pay us a check that will keep our athletic department sort of in the black for 2012-13. One person is convicted and will be in prison for the rest of his life, another 2-3 are likely to be convicted on related charges, and the school is facing hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties and legal losses/settlements. And they deserve that and more. I hope they pay it (don't be naive, that will hurt their educational mission a lot).

Disagree. If Ohio beats Penn State, it will be diminished in the eyes of the BCS lackies as a win "only because PSU is down."

"A clear indication that Penn State ain't what it used to be."

"Edit: And if you've really got such a problem with the level of emphasis that a university, ANY university, puts on athletics, then maybe a college-sports bulletin board isn't the best place to spend your time on a monday late morning."

To correlate my opinion that of not supporting college athletics, or not caring about its place within a university is unfair.  I happen to believe it has an integral part of the daily life of a university, which is why I have taken great interest in this particular story.  I've also never advocated shutting down the entire athletics department.  There are many institutions across the country that run athletic programs without having "big-time" college football teams to finance them.  My point was that you can't let the worry of how to fund the volleyball team influence the penalty on the football team. 

One of the major problems with college football that I continue to read about, and have read about for a long time on this message board is the division of power in FBS football.  Major football
programs such as PSU thrive on money and power, and build up to the point that it's simply not just an NCAA sport, or part of an athletic department - it runs the university and the entire culture surrounding it.  Money is the ultimate problem in this sport, which is why we as fans continue to be saddled with an absurd bowl system, and an even more absurd "playoff".  It's all about the dollar, and these programs are out of control.  I also don't think they should be penalized hard just because I find pleasure in one of the "big boys" going down, but I do believe it's an opportunity for the NCAA, hypocritacal as they can be, to perhaps realize there may be a problem in college football. 

Believe it or not I'm not adamant that the program be shut down, but I think there needs to be healthy debate to point out why PSU is in the position they are currently in, and why so many other programs could find themselves (god help us) in similar situations.  I just don't think it's as black-and-white as saying these kids or coaches had nothing to do with it, or there is no precedent in place for this, therefore it should not be shut down. On the flip side it's not as easy to say "shut it down" as some columns have pointed out.  Both sides have made excellent and legitimate arguments. It's not lost on me that a death penalty would impact innocent people.  I just think we all need to step back from the standpoint of how this will affect athletics, and realize that the negative impact reaches far greater than a handful of teams and current players. 

Which leads me to believe that there could be more major/minor violations that Penn State has covered up during Paterno's reign.  If I recall correctly, Penn State has never had a major violation during his time as coach.