Guidelines established for PSU's five-year, $60M fine

A 10-member task force has been named to come up with guidelines for how to distribute the record $60 million fine that Pennsylvania State University will pay in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, the NCAA said Tuesday.

The money will fund programs designed to combat child sexual abuse and help victims around the country. The task force will set policy for the endowment and hire a third-party administrator who will choose which nonprofit groups receive funding each year.

"This fund will exist, presumably, for a long, long time, and putting it together right, putting a good solid foundation under it, a thoughtful philosophy under it, is just going to mean it will be an effective, respected source of funding in this area for a long time," said task force member Nan Crouter, dean of Penn State's College of Health and Human Development.

The NCAA imposed tough sanctions on Penn State over its handling of sex-abuse allegations against Sandusky, a retired assistant football coach convicted of abusing 10 boys over a period of 15 years.

The governing body acted swiftly following a school-sanctioned report by former FBI Director Louis Freeh that accused coach Joe Paterno and three top officials of hiding child sexual abuse allegations against Sandusky to protect the school and its powerful football program.

Paterno died in January at 85. His family and the other school officials have all denied Freeh's allegations.

The NCAA levied a four-year postseason ban, significant scholarship cuts, and other sanctions to punish Penn State over its failure to report a serial child predator to authorities.

Penn State also agreed to pay $12 million a year for the next five years into an endowment to fund programs for the detection, prevention, and treatment of child abuse.

Pennsylvania politicians including Republican Gov. Corbett and House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody wanted the NCAA to keep all the funds in-state. Instead, 25 percent of the annual grants will be reserved for Pennsylvania organizations. In-state groups will also receive the first round of funding.

"Recognizing that child sexual abuse is a national issue, the NCAA has determined that grants from the endowment will be available in other states as well," Penn State president Rodney Erickson said in a statement.

An NCAA spokeswoman declined comment on a timetable for the first distribution of funds.

Penn State got to name two people to the task force: Craig Hillemeier, vice dean for clinical affairs at the medical school, and Crouter.

Other members of the task force include administrators from other NCAA member schools; nonprofit executives including United Way Worldwide CEO Brian Gallagher; and a representative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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