Blue White Illustrated

NEWS & NOTES SAYING HELLO O'Brien, shown here at a 2012 news conference, traveled to Penn State's Fayette campus to address the trustees on July 12. Patrick Mansell FOOTBALL O'Brien talks sanctions with trustees Is Penn State preparing to approach the NCAA with a proposal to reduce the sanctions levied against the football program a year ago? That was one of the big topics of conversation – at least among fans and media – following Bill O'Brien's appearance at the trustees' July meeting in Lemont Furnace, Pa. But while talk of a "parole" hearing has heated up in recent months, a number of key questions remain unanswered, including the biggest question of all: Would anyone at the NCAA be willing to listen? O'Brien addressed the trustees for more than an hour during an executive session the morning of July 12 at Penn State's Fayette branch campus. The meeting was not open to reporters, but slides from O'Brien's PowerPoint presentation were visible outside the room in which the meet- ing was conducted. As reported by Mike Dawson of the Centre Daily Times, one of the slides read "Potential proposal to modify sanctions." Penn State signed a consent decree last July that imposed an array of harsh penalties, including a four-year postseason ban, the loss of 40 scholarships over a four-year period and a $60 million fine. But the document also states the following: "This Consent Decree may be modified or clarified by mutual consent of the parties." Trustee Paul Silvis told the CDT in March that "hopefully that can happen someday," and board chairman Keith Masser echoed that comment when talking to reporters following the July 12 meeting. Asked after the meeting whether Penn State would seek relief from the sanctions, Masser said, "We would like to do that at some point." In making their case for a reduction in the penalties, Penn State officials have pointed to the university's quick implementation of the recommendations contained in chapter 10 of the Freeh report. To date, 115 of the 119 recommendations made by former FBI director Louis Freeh and his team have been enacted. The consent decree calls for all of the recommendations to be implemented by Dec. 31, 2013. In addition, independent athletics monitor George Mitchell has given the university a series of positive reviews in his quarterly reports to the board, noting in May that Penn State "has continued to press forward in good faith in fulfilling its obligations under the athletics integrity agreement." Citing the recent hiring of an athletics integrity officer and an ethics and compliance director, Mitchell said the

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