National Football Foundation

This fall will mark Joe Paterno's 41st season pacing the sidelines as head coach of the Nittany Lions. Last year, he joined another college football legend, Amos Alonzo Stagg, as the only major college coaches to have served 40 years as head coach at a single institution.

Paterno's career at Penn State spans 56 years and 630 games. After 16 years as an assistant coach, he was rewarded in 1966 with the head coaching responsibilities following the retirement of Rip Engle, his college coach at Brown who appointed the 23-year-old Paterno to the Penn State staff in 1950. The 2005 season represented one of the most memorable ones for Paterno, as his Nittany Lions earned an 11-1 record and captured both the Big Ten Championship and a thrilling triple overtime decision over Bobby Bowden and Florida State in the FedEx Orange Bowl.

Last year's 11-win season represented another milestone, as Penn State earned at least 10 victories under Paterno in a fifth different decade and for the 19th time overall. The Nittany Lions were No. 3 in the polls, earning their 13th Top 5 finish under the legendary coach, and 21st Top 10 finish.

For his leadership in restoring the Nittany Lions to the nation's elite, Paterno was recognized with numerous National Coach of the Year honors, capped by an unprecedented fifth selection by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). He also earned national honors from the Associated Press, Bobby Dodd, Home Depot/ESPN, Maxwell Football Club (George Munger), Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C., The Sporting News and the Walter Camp Football Foundation.
A member of the Nittany Lions' coaching staff spanning the administrations of 11 U.S. presidents (starting with Harry Truman), Paterno passed Bear Bryant on October 27, 2001 when the Lions secured his 324th victory by rallying from a 27-9 deficit to defeat Ohio State, 29-27, in the greatest Beaver Stadium comeback under the legendary coach.

Paterno has posted a 354-117-3 mark in 40 seasons as head coach and ranks second to Bowden in career wins among major college coaches and fourth all-time. His winning percentage of 75.0 is sixth best among active Division I-A coaches (10 or more years) and he is second all-time in games coached (474) among major college coaches. Paterno is the all-time leader among coaches in bowl appearances (32) and post-season triumphs (21). His overall postseason record of 21-10-1 gives him a winning percentage of 67.2, tying him for No. 3 among the bowl season's best of all-time. The Nittany Lions are 15-6 in New Year's games under Paterno and 12-4 in the bowl games that comprise the Bowl Championship Series.

Since Paterno took over in 1966, Penn State has had 71 first-team All-Americans, 14 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athletes, 24 first-team Academic All-Americans and 18 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winners.

Paterno's coaching portfolio includes two National Championships (1982, 1986); five undefeated, untied teams; 20 finishes in the Top Ten of the national rankings; five AFCA Coach-of-the-Year plaques, and more than 300 former players who have signed National Football League contracts, 29 of them first-round draft choices. This December, Paterno will receive induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Joe and Sue Paterno have five children, all of whom are Penn State graduates; daughters Diana and Mary and sons David, George and Jay, who currently serves as Penn State's quarterbacks coach.