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Big Ten removes Paterno's name from trophy
Former Penn State coach Joe Paterno's name has been removed from the Big Ten's football championship trophy, league commissioner Jim Delany said Monday.
The league announced in light of the series of events that have recently unfolded at Penn State, including grand jury indictments, an ongoing Grand Jury investigation, a U.S. Department of Education investigation, the Board of Trustees’ dismissal of Paterno and the Board of Trustees’ appointment of a Special Investigation Committee, it would remove Paterno’s name from the championship trophy.
The trophy will be awarded at the Big Ten's inaugural football championship game Dec. 3 in Indianapolis.
“We believe that it would be inappropriate to keep Joe Paterno’s name on the trophy at this time,” Delany said. “The trophy and its namesake are intended to be celebratory and aspirational, not controversial. We believe that it’s important to keep the focus on the players and the teams that will be competing in the inaugural championship game.”
The trophy to be presented in Indianapolis next month will now be called the Stagg Championship Trophy, named after Amos Alonzo Stagg, who coached football at the University of Chicago, a founding member of the Big Ten, from 1892 – 1932. Stagg compiled a 199-94-22 record while the University of Chicago was a member of the Big Ten, including national championships in 1905 and 1913.
Appropriate decision.