Penn State Sports Magazine
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with impunity. The sanctions were de- scribed as "devastating," "crippling" and "worse than the death penalty," and they touched off a headlong rush to State College, as coaches from op- posing schools – including some from Big Ten rivals – chased Nittany Lion players in hope of luring them away. Illinois alone had eight people stationed at two off-campus locations, from which they made calls to players inviting them to stop by. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany called the sanctions "difficult" and "challenging" and added that they will "inhibit competitiveness for a while." He acknowledged that many facts in the Sandusky scandal have not yet been firmly established, with criminal and civil cases still pending, but he added that the university's acceptance of the Freeh report emboldened the NCAA and the Big Ten to act. The conference added onto the NCAA's sanctions by opting to give Penn State's $13 million share of the league's bowl revenue over the next four years to charities that work to prevent child abuse. "What's clear to me is that justice can never really be served in this case because the victims can never receive justice," Delany said. "That's just the sad fact of the case. There are ancillary people who are impacted by the case in one way or another. It's affected the Big Ten, it's affected Penn State, obvi- ously. It's affected a lot of people who are not involved in any way shape or form with the case. But I think you have to recognize that the 10 individuals and perhaps many, many more were damaged and hurt. And there's no amount of legal, criminal, civil, NCAA or Big Ten action that can change that or help them." Against that painful backdrop, the Nittany Lions have begun the hard work of re-establishing their football program. Beginning with a show of solidarity outside the Lasch Building the day before the Big Ten media event began – a statement organized by Mauti and senior fullback Michael Zordich – the Nittany Lions worked to remind the world that there's more to Penn State than the scandal that has now been making headlines for the better part of a year. That effort continued in Chicago. "I'm not here to talk about what's fair and what's not," Urschel said. "It is what it is. We can't change it. All we can do right now is try to show everyone how strong we are as a football program and how strong we are as a university in spite of all these things, and to show people what Penn State truly is all about." Added Hill, "We were tired of being quiet about everything. We kind of came to the conclusion that we weren't going to say anything for a little bit, but it was killing us, because we had so much to say. When you hold some- thing in, it starts to itch at you. You want people to know that we're going to be OK. And if people continue to support us, it will be that much bet- ter." The Nittany Lion players said that in the days following the NCAA's sanc- tions, they received words of encour- agement and support from people who understood that they were being pe- nalized for others' sins. "It's meant the world to us," Urschel said. "I always felt that we had a great fan base. This is just a testament to how strong our fan base is. It shows that we have the best fans in the coun- try. The Penn State family is extremely close and is still together." While many of those emails and tweets were from fans, graduates and former players, others were from more unexpected sources. "I've had Ohio State fans say, 'You guys are going to be OK. We might not root for you when we're playing against you, but you guys are going to be all right,' " said Hill, a senior defensive tackle. Players aren't naïve about the chal- lenge they face as they look to play a part in helping rebuild the university's damaged reputation. "I'm sure we're receiving some judg- ment from people," Urschel said. "But in the end, we're just looking to show people what Penn State is all about, and that one person can't ruin the spirit of a university. The university is more resilient than that." P RE DI C T I ONS While the Legends Division A HOUSE DIVIDED looks strong, off-the-field issues have clouded the picture in the Leaders Division BY MATT HERB onship game, but at the league's annual media summit in July, there was already talk of re-align- ment. Granted, most of that talk originated with the media, not the people who actually have the power to make decisions about the future. This fall, two of the Big Ten's C high-profile teams will be ineligible to play in its championship game or in a bowl game. Those teams – Penn State and Ohio State – are both in the Leaders Division. And while the Buckeyes' postseason ban is only for one season, the Nit- tany Lions are ineligible until 2016 and are facing the possibility of a significant talent drain in the com- ing years, as they will be capped at 65 scholarships starting in 2014. At Big Ten Media Days, there was much speculation about how Wis- consin might have an unobstruct- ed path to the title game this year, while the top teams in the Legends Division – Michigan, Michigan State and Nebraska – will be forced to battle it out to the end. But will it really go down like that? Will the road really be easier SEE PREDICTIONS NEXT PAGE matt@bluewhiteonline.com HICAGO – It's been only a year since the Big Ten split into divi- sions and launched a champi-