[ by Howard Haykin ] The NCAA governing board took sweeping, unprecedented action against Penn State University's revered football program on Monday, a week after unfairly pummeling Division 3 CalTach. The sanctions against Penn State -$60 million fine, 4-year post-season ban, voiding of team's victories for past 14 seasons, reduction in number of scholarships, permission given to current players to transfer out. That sounds appropriate after college officials harbored a known a child sex abuser for the past 2 decades - in order to retain the glory and rank of its storied Nittany Lion football team. Not the 'Death Penalty, But Close Enough. Sanctioning the school with the so-called "death penalty" - suspension of the football program - would have produced a broad-brushed penalty against the entire Penn State community - "guilty" and "innocent" - which frankly, would have been inappropriate.  Credit should be given to the governing board of the NCAA, which has so often been maligned for dishing out uneven levels of punishment - striking out against weaker schools with message statements, while not seeking to pick a fight with any of the "titans" of college sports - they command too much clout.  So, in short, we at Compliance Insights fully agree with, and endorse, the restraint demonstrated by the NCAA. Morning News Conference. The punishment, announced by the National College Athletic Association at a news conference in Indianapolis by NCAA's Mark Emmert, was unprecedented for its swiftness and breadth. It was the latest body blow to an institution still reeling from the child molestation conviction last month of Sandusky, who was a long-time assistant coach under Paterno. It also added filth to what has become the diminishing legacy of Paterno, a great football coach who lost his perspectives in life.  Until Monday's action, 'JoePa' had held the record for victories among big-time U.S. college football coaches in a career - spanning over 40 seasons.  That is now lost since the NCAA's punishment includes voiding the Nittany Lions' victories between 1998 and 2011 - the time period  covering when allegations against Sandusky were first made and when they came to light. Emmert said the NCAA chose not to levy the so-called "death penalty" that would have eliminated an entire season or more for the football program because it would have harmed individuals with no role in the Sandusky scandal. "TRAGICALLY UNNECESSARY". The Penn State case struck to the heart of college sports, and emphasized the need to make sure the focus of athletic programs was integrity, honesty and responsibility, rather than "hero worship and winning at all costs," said Emmert, who pulled no punches in a scathing assessment of the behavior of Penn State administrators. "This case involves tragic and tragically unnecessary circumstances," Emmert said. "One of the grave damages stemming from our love of sports is that the sports themselves can become too big to fail, indeed too big to even challenge. The result can be an erosion of academic values that are replaced by the value of hero worship and winning at all costs. "In the Penn State case, the results were perverse and unconscionable," he said. "No price the NCAA can levy will repair the grievous damage inflicted by Jerry Sandusky on his victims. However, we can make clear that the culture, actions and inactions that allowed them to be victimized will not be tolerated in collegiate athletics." In June, Sandusky, 68, was convicted of sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years. He awaits sentencing and could be given as many as 373 years in prison.  This month, former FBI director Louis Freeh released a report that criticized Paterno for his role in protecting Sandusky and the school's image at the expense of young victims.  Emmert said the criminal investigation of Sandusky and the Freeh report allowed it to act with  unprecedented speed in determining the penalties. The NCAA reserves the right to conduct its own investigation at a later time, he said. College football is a huge generator of money for major U.S. universities such as Penn State because of large television contracts and the millions of fans attending their teams' games in the fall. Penn State's program, which Paterno led to national championships in 1982 and 1986, was rated the third most valuable by Forbes magazine.  The NCAA penalty was handed down one day after Penn State removed a statue of Paterno from in front of the  university football stadium. NO NCAA INVESTIGATION. The NCAA acted with unprecedented speed, relying on Freeh's findings instead of conducting its own investigation.  Freeh's report, commissioned by the university's board of trustees and released on July 12, said Paterno and other high-ranking school officials covered up Sandusky's actions for years while demonstrating a callous disregard for the abuse victims. Paterno was fired by Penn State's board in November, days after Sandusky was arrested for the abuse. He died in January of lung cancer. In 2001, graduate assistant Mike McQueary witnessed Sandusky assaulting a boy in the showers at the Penn State athletic complex.  McQueary told Paterno, who told Athletic Director Tim Curley, who subsequently talked with then-university Vice President Gary Schultz and university President Graham Spanier. No one went to the police.  Spanier was fired in November at the same time as Paterno. Curley and Schultz have been charged  with perjury for allegedly lying to a grand jury investigating Sandusky's crimes and for failing to report suspected child abuse. They have pleaded not guilty. The university is also under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for possible violations of the Clery Act, which requires colleges to collect and report daily and annual crime statistics and issue timely warnings. For further details, go to:   [Reuters, 7/23/12].