Timeline: Joe Paterno’s years at Penn State

Penn State University head football coach Joe Paterno is surrounded by the media while leaving the team’s football building on November 8, 2011 in University Park, Pennsylvania. Amid allegations that former assistant Jerry Sandusky was involved with child sex abuse, Paterno’s weekly news conference was canceled about an hour before it was scheduled to occur.  (ROB CARR / GETTY IMAGES)

Mural artist Michael Pilato adds a halo on Joe Paterno to a mural he created, several years ago, in Downtown State College, Pennsylvania January 23, 2012. Mourners of Penn State football coach Joe Paternoadjusted to life without the man who was the face of the university for half a century on Monday while coming to terms with a legacy tainted by his inactive role in a child sexual abuse scandal.  (PAT LITTLE / REUTERS)

Signs and flowers are seen at the statue of the late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, before the annual Spring football scrimmage in State College, Pennsylvania in this April 21, 2012 file photo. Former FBI director Louis Freeh, in an investigative report of Penn State University released July 12, 2012, blamed late legendary football coach Joe Paterno and other top school officials for failing to alert police about child sex abuse by his assistant Jerry Sandusky.  (PAT LITTLE / REUTERS)

Penn State head coach Joe Paterno (R) talks with assistant coach Mike McQueary during the fourth quarter of the Capital One Bowl NCAA football game against Louisiana State University in Orlando, Florida, in this January 1, 2010 file photo. McCreary has been identified as the graduate assistant who said he saw former PSU defensive coordinator Gerald Jerry Sandusky sexually assaulting a boy in March 2002, according to a New York Times report on November 7, 2011.  (SCOTT AUDETTE / REUTERS)

Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno, right, poses with his defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky during Penn State Media Day at State College, Pa. Friday, Aug. 6, 1999. Sandusky plans to retire after this season.  (PAUL VATHIS / AP PHOTO)

Joe Paterno, center, and his wife, Susan, stand on their porch to thank well-wishers in State College, Pa.,Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011. The Penn State board of trustees voted Wednesday night to fire Paterno and university president Graham Spanier amid the growing furor over how the school handled sex abuse allegations against an assistant coach.  (GENE J. PUSKAR / AP PHOTO)

Penn State coach Joe Paterno looks on in disgust during the Capital One Bowl between Auburn and Penn State. Auburn won the game 13-9.  (Jacob Langston/Orlando Sentinel)

Sue Paterno, right, shares a laugh with her husband, Penn State coach Joe Paterno, at a news conference Friday, Jan. 16, 1998, in State College, Pa., during which they announced they were giving Penn State University a $3.5 million gift. The gift will be used to endow faculty positions, scholarships, a new interfaith spiritual center, and a sports hall of fame. The Paternos now have given more than four million dollars to the university.  (AP Photo/Craig Houtz)

Injured Penn State head coach Joe Paterno is cheered by the crowd before the start of the second half against Michigan State during their game at Beaver Stadium November 18, 2006 in University Park, Pennsylvania.  (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Penn State University head football coach Joe Paterno hugs a cheerleader Sunday night, Dec. 26, 1999, during an Alamo Bowl pep rally on the River Walk in San Antonio. Penn State will face Texas A&M in the Alamodome on Tuesday.  (AP Photo/San Antonio Express-News, William Luther)

Penn State Nittany Lions fans dressed as head coach Joe Paterno while poking fun at the Texas A&M Aggies 12th man tradition cheer during the Valero Alamo Bowl on December 29, 2007 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Penn State won 24-17.  (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

Head coach Joe Paterno of the Penn State Nittany Lions watches as his offense struggles against the Iowa Hawkeyes as Iowa defeated Penn State 6-4 during NCAA football at Beaver Stadium on October 23, 2004 in State College, Pennsylvania.  (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Head coach Joe Paterno of the Penn State Nittany Lions watches from the sidelines as his team takes on the Florida State Seminoles during the FedEx Orange Bowl on January 3, 2006 at Dolphins Stadium in Miami, Florida. Penn State defeated Florida State 26-23 in triple overtime.  (Doug Benc/Getty Images)