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Paterno Most Victories NCAA Division I Only Coach 400

January 29, 2012 by · Comments Off on Paterno Most Victories NCAA Division I Only Coach 400 

Paterno Most Victories NCAA Division I Only Coach 400, Joe Paterno, the famed football coach who led the Pennsylvania State program for 46 years, has passed away due to complications from lung cancer, his family said on Sunday morning.

Paterno had been diagnosed with cancer last year shortly after being forced to step down from leading the Nittany Lions football team. The scandal began after an alleged child-sex allegations arose that involved one of his former defensive coordinators, Jerry Sandusky.

According to various reports and his family, Paterno had been coaching for over 61 years and of course, led Penn State for almost five decades.

The news hit both fans in Pennsylvania and here in North Carolina very hard. Despite his recent troubles with the scandal involving his defensive coordinator, Coach Paterno had been a father-like figure in the world of football and appealed to fans both young and old across the country.

For local Penn State fan Matt Bohn, the news of Paterno’s death was hard to take. Bohn now lives in the Raleigh area and works at a consulting firm, but grew up in Pennsylvania and attended games at Penn State as a child.

“I saw my first college football games at Beaver Stadium and have loved football ever since,” said Bohn in an interview with The Telegram on Sunday night. Bohn said that he had returned many times to his home state to watch games in person and was able to share one special game with his family.

“I’m happy to say that I saw Paterno’s 400th victory with my wife and daughter,” said Bohn. “I look forward to the day I can tell my daughter how much that meant to her father.”

Although he played football in college, interestingly, Paterno turned away from a career path as an attorney to pursue coaching.

“When he decided to forego a career in law and make coaching his vocation, his father Angelo had but one command: make an impact,” said his family in a statement.

Paterno had been accepted to the Boston University law school, but instead accepted a job working with Rip Engle as an assistant coach at Penn State University. Paterno had played football at Brown University, where Engle had been Paterno’s head coach.

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