NCAA task force to oversee $60M Penn State fine

The Associated Press

First Published Sep 18 2012 10:55 am • Last Updated Sep 18 2012 12:16 pm

State College, Pa. • A 10-member task force has been named to come up with guidelines for how to distribute the record $60 million fine that Penn State has agreed to pay in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, the NCAA said Tuesday.

The money will fund programs designed to combat child sexual abuse and help victims around the country. The task force will set policy and hire a third-party administrator who will choose which nonprofit groups receive the money each year.

Prominent Pennsylvania politicians including Republican Gov. Tom Corbett and House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody want the NCAA to keep all the funds in state.

The NCAA imposed tough sanctions on Penn State over its handling of sex-abuse allegations against Sandusky, a retired assistant football coach convicted of abusing 10 boys over 15 years.

The governing body acted swiftly following a school-sanctioned report by former FBI Director Louis Freeh that accused coach Joe Paterno and three top officials of hiding child sexual abuse allegations against Sandusky to protect the school and its powerful football program.

Paterno died in January at age 85. His family and the other school officials have all vehemently denied Freeh’s allegations.

But the NCAA levied a four-year postseason ban, significant scholarship cuts and other sanctions to punish Penn State over its failure to report a serial child predator to authorities.

Penn State also agreed to pay $12 million a year for the next five years into an endowment to fund programs for the detection, prevention and treatment of child abuse.

Members of the NCAA task force include administrators from Penn State and other NCAA member schools; nonprofit executives including United Way Worldwide CEO Brian Gallagher; and a representative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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