"Paterno, as has been well-documented, called all the shots in Happy Valley." -Stewart Mandel

[michnittlion]

Joe opposed joining the Big Ten but was overruled.

Now THAT is completely false.

The champion (from the B1G side) for PSU's invite was then-Illinois President Stan Ikenberry. Paterno was actually at meetings in Ikenberry's house in 1989 where all of he, Bryce Jordan, and Steve Garban expressed PSU's interest in joining the conference.

Now --- Bo Schembechler. HE was against Penn State joining the B1G. Schembechler was rather loud about this opinion.

But then-Michigan President James Duderstadt rather famously never consulted Schembechler as to his opinion, nor even told him that a vote was taking place.

 

[nits74]

Now THAT is completely false.

The champion (from the B1G side) for PSU's invite was then-Illinois President Stan Ikenberry. Paterno was actually at meetings in Ikenberry's house in 1989 where all of he, Bryce Jordan, and Steve Garban expressed PSU's interest in joining the conference.

Now --- Bo Schembechler. HE was against Penn State joining the B1G. Schembechler was rather loud about this opinion.

But then-Michigan President James Duderstadt rather famously never consulted Schembechler as to his opinion, nor even told him that a vote was taking place.

Correct on that. Although Michigan ultimately voted against Penn State's admission along with MSU and Indiana.

 

[91Joe95]

I'm not disputing any of your points above regarding Triponey's and Paterno's respective stances concerning the disciplinary process of football players. But the bottom line effect of Paterno abrogating the OJA, however justified he may have been versus Triponey at the time, was to set the Football program apart from from the University's disciplinary process, at least perceptually.

Making the squad pick up litter at Beaver Stadium on Sunday morning in response to a violent breaking and entering and assault by at least a dozen players was a joke, and then Joe shortened the "punishment" to 2-3 games.

I recall hearing that one of the problems for Paterno in the Meridian Apartment affair was that Triponey wanted the players to "rat" on each other and Joe felt that would tear the squad apart.

Perhaps the real culprit here was Spanier who, as president, should have separately sat both Triponey and Paterno down and firmly set the boundaries for each.

No, actually the football players were still punishable by the university. I guess we can welcome you to felli fantasy land.

 

[Art]

Now THAT is completely false.

The champion (from the B1G side) for PSU's invite was then-Illinois President Stan Ikenberry. Paterno was actually at meetings in Ikenberry's house in 1989 where all of he, Bryce Jordan, and Steve Garban expressed PSU's interest in joining the conference.

Now --- Bo Schembechler. HE was against Penn State joining the B1G. Schembechler was rather loud about this opinion.

But then-Michigan President James Duderstadt rather famously never consulted Schembechler as to his opinion, nor even told him that a vote was taking place.

Why would Duderstadt have to consult Bo? He opposed PSU's admission into the Big Ten.

BTw, Jim Tarman was also at the meeting in Ikenberry's house.

 

[michnittlion]

Why would Duderstadt have to consult Bo? He opposed PSU's admission into the Big Ten.

BTw, Jim Tarman was also at the meeting in Ikenberry's house.

Duderstadt shouldn't have had to consult Bo. Schembechler was incorrect in thinking his opinion had any relevance as regards Duderstadt's eventual vote.

 

[Art]

Duderstadt shouldn't have had to consult Bo. Schembechler was incorrect in thinking his opinion had any relevance as regards Duderstadt's eventual vote.

So Bo wasn't the most powerful man in Ann Arbor? Well, goooooollllllllllllllleeeee!!!

 

[Zenophile]

So Bo wasn't the most powerful man in Ann Arbor? Well, goooooollllllllllllllleeeee!!!

Nonsense. Bo, as has been well-documented, called all the shots in Ann Arbor.

 

[Art]

Nonsense. Bo, as has been well-documented, called all the shots in Ann Arbor.

Better tell Stewie.

 

[Aoshiro]

I'm not disputing any of your points above regarding Triponey's and Paterno's respective stances concerning the disciplinary process of football players. But the bottom line effect of Paterno abrogating the OJA, however justified he may have been versus Triponey at the time, was to set the Football program apart from from the University's disciplinary process, at least perceptually.

Making the squad pick up litter at Beaver Stadium on Sunday morning in response to a violent breaking and entering and assault by at least a dozen players was a joke, and then Joe shortened the "punishment" to 2-3 games.

I recall hearing that one of the problems for Paterno in the Meridian Apartment affair was that Triponey wanted the players to "rat" on each other and Joe felt that would tear the squad apart.

Perhaps the real culprit here was Spanier who, as president, should have separately sat both Triponey and Paterno down and firmly set the boundaries for each.

You continue to assert something that is factually incorrect. Paterno never "abrogated" the OJA. Paterno's point -- and he was absolutely correct -- was that the OJA disciplinary process for all Penn State students should be EXACTLY the same. This is what Triponey was trying to subvert. It wasn't that Paterno wanted special treatment for athletes. It was that Triponey wanted special power over athletes. Just like her friend Mark Emmert, she was making up "rules" as she went along.

There was nothing whatsoever that would have prevented the OJA from taking action on the Meridian fight matter in EXACTLY the same way as OJA would have handled a similar report involving non-athletes. But that's not what Triponey wanted to do. She wanted the ability to summarily punish athletes -- denying them even the right to a hearing -- in a way that OJA could not punish any other Penn State students.

Your remark about the Beaver Stadium cleaning is a complete non sequitur. It has absolutely nothing to do with Triponey or the OJA. Nor should it have. If Paterno -- or any other coach -- wants to punish athletes for breaking team rules that is team business. That is not OJA business.

With regard to your final comment, in the end a committee was convened. The committee set clear rules about discipline (essentially the same rules that everyone had understood and followed for decades until Miss Vicky made a mess of things), and Triponey ended up leaving Penn State because she was a power hungry nutcase who could not live within those boundaries.

 

[Obliviax]

On Tripony, I recall there was a really crazy DA at the time. There were all kinds of bogus charges from date rape, to fights, to taking a bike out of a trash bin to driving a bike at night without a light. Tripony wanted all of these kids to not be able to take part in school activities until they were fully vetted. During the season, taking a bike out of the trash bin could have resulted in a kid loosing months of practice or playing time. While being a player requires a higher set of standards, they are also targets. The fight, for example, would have resulted in a suspension of a dozen players (IIRC) and they wouldn't have been able to play/practice for months as the situation was investigated and vetted.

Joe didn't want to, and never, wanted kids to get preferred treatment; just the opposite. Joe wanted to get the players away from Trip's kangaroo court system because their situations demanded something different than a kid playing intramural foosball or the debate team.

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

Correct on that. Although Michigan ultimately voted against Penn State's admission along with MSU and Indiana.

The Prez was overruled by Bo

 

[Connorpozlee]

The thing about this supposed "football culture" is that it seems like football is emphasized much more now than it was when Joe was the coach. A lot more money being spent on the program now than when Joe was the head coach.

 

[Aoshiro]

The thing about this supposed "football culture" is that it seems like football is emphasized much more now than it was when Joe was the coach. A lot more money being spent on the program now than when Joe was the head coach.

Yep. The irony is not lost on some of us.

 

[BobPSU92]

The thing about this supposed "football culture" is that it seems like football is emphasized much more now than it was when Joe was the coach. A lot more money being spent on the program now than when Joe was the head coach.

The trustees knew from the beginning that the football culture angle was bullshit. It was deflection, nothing more.

 

[WiiRpos]

Did Mandel once call us Pedo State?

 

[Metal Mike]

What a lot of people are forgetting is that Joe was the major fund raiser for the university. Joe could get the big donors to open their wallets. Joe led a campaign to raise money. It has been rumored that Joe stated that if he was forced out then he would cease to be a fund raiser. This may have threaten members of the BOT. Some may have felt that this was too much power for the football coach. And many academic types were jealous of the way alumni and outsides cared about Joe. Joe was the "Face" of the University. But he did not call all the shots as Mandel's article states,. He was important and he did have influence. To Joe's credit he used that influence to raise money and created goodwill for the university.

Also no one was worried about Jay becoming our head coach, but we were worried about the new coach having to accept a deal to retain Jay on the staff.

This is a far from Joe called the shots at PSU. True Joe ran the football program (as much as any other head football coach) and he wanted some say in who would be his successor and he probably wanted to find a way to keep Jay on the PSU staff.