AP: Paterno to retire at season's end

With sexual assault allegations against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky stunning an entire community and tarnishing a once-pristine legacy, Joe Paterno will walk away from coaching at the end of this season.

The longtime Penn State head coach will retire at the end of the 2011 campaign, according to The Associated Press. He will reportedly make the announcement later Wednesday.

The 84-year-old Paterno, who has more victories than any other Division I head football coach and has two national championships on his resume, has been the Nittany Lions head coach for 46 seasons and has helped raise tens of millions of dollars for the school. But he will ultimately endure a graceless exit in the wake of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky being charged with sexually abusing eight boys across a 15-year period. Although he reported an assault of a young boy in 2002 when he became aware of one of Sandusky's alleged wrongdoings, Paterno's inaction in regards to calling police or following up on the case revealed a lack of leadership and contributed to an apparent cover-up by top officials at the school.

Email dave.miller@nationalfootballpost.com or follow me on Twitter at Miller_Dave

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