Penn State Hit With $60 Million Fine, Four-Year Ban From Bowl Games + More

As expected, NCAA officials have levied heavy punishment on Penn State over the Jerry Sandusky molestation scandal. The school will have to pay $60 million in fines, is banned from any postseason appearance for the next four years and more.

As ESPN reports, the money from the fines will go towards assisting outside programs preventing child sexual abuse and helping those who suffered from such abuse.

"These funds must be paid into an endowment for external programs preventing child sexual abuse or assisting victims and may not be used to fund such programs at the university," said the NCAA in statement.

In another heavy blow, all wins that Penn State has gained from 1998-2011 have been erased from the record books. This leaves former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden as the all-time wins leader in college football instead of Joe Paterno. Penn State's scholarship count will be reduced to 10 initially and 20 over the next four years.

NCAA president Mark Emmert and the chairman of the NCAA's executive committee Ed Ray announced the punishment this morning in a press conference at the organization's headquarters in Indianapolis.

"No price the NCAA can levy with repair the damage inflicted by Jerry Sandusky on his victims," Emmert said. "Football will never again be placed ahead of educating, nurturing and protecting young people."

Sandusky was charged with 45 counts of child sexual abuse last month. The former defensive coordinator for the Nittany Lions was found guilty of sexually abusing boys, sometimes on campus. An official report commissioned by the NCAA revealed that Paterno, along with other top officials at Penn State, tried to cover up the allegations against Sandusy for years. The announcement comes one day after the statue of Joe Paterno outside of Beaver Stadium was removed.

Many thought the NCAA would impose the "death penalty" on Penn State, which would have shut down their football program completely. The college did not fit the criteria of committing a major violation while already sanctioned.