University Park, Pa. -- Joe Paterno, who has built Penn State into one of the nation's premier football programs on the field and in the classroom during his 40 years as head coach, has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.
Paterno will be inducted with other members of the Class of 2006 at the National Football Foundation's 49th annual awards dinner on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
He will become the 21st member of the Penn State program inducted, joining 16 former players and four Nittany Lion coaches. The most recent Penn Stater so honored was guard Keith Dorney last December. Running back Lydell Mitchell was inducted in 2004, giving the Nittany Lions a Hall of Fame honoree three consecutive years.
Three of the four most successful coaches in college football history will enter the Hall of Fame in December, as Florida State's Bobby Bowden and St. John's (Minn.) mentor John Gagliardi also will be inducted. Gagliardi has been a head coach since 1949 and is tops among all NCAA coaches in victories with a 432-118-11 record. Legendary Grambling coach Eddie Robinson is second with 408 wins, followed by Bowden (359-107-4) and Paterno (354-117-3).
"I am very honored to be selected for the Hall of Fame," stated Paterno. "It is probably the pinnacle award anyone in college football can receive. Many people helped make this happen, starting with the great players with whom I've been involved and the great coaches who have been with me and worked in an unselfish way to help us have success and make the Penn State program what it is.
"I look forward to being in New York with my good friend Bobby Bowden and am delighted that we are going into the Hall of Fame together. I want to thank the Honors Court for selecting me. Hopefully I deserve it."
"This is the highest honor in college football and a very rare honor for a coach, so we are especially proud that Joe Paterno's lifetime of accomplishments is being recognized," said Penn State President Graham Spanier.
"We are thrilled with Joe Paterno's election to the College Football Hall of Fame," said Tim Curley, Penn State Director of Athletics. "Coach Paterno has had a profound impact on Penn State, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, college football and society as a coach, teacher and humanitarian. He has touched the lives of thousands of former players, Penn State students, alumni and fans, student-athletes at other institutions and many others.
"When Joe Paterno became head coach in 1966, he had a vision for Penn State and his program," Curley added. "He wanted Penn State to strive to become the best institution of higher learning it could be. And he wanted to build a football program with young men who understood that getting a quality education had to be their first goal, followed by developing teams that could compete for the national championship. He obviously has been very successful in building and maintaining those two foundations of his program throughout his magnificent career and is most deserving of induction into the College Football Hall of Fame."
Paterno's illustrious career will reach another milestone during the 2006 season, as he joins another college football legend, Amos Alonzo Stagg, as the only major college coaches to serve more than 40 years at one institution. Stagg was a head coach for 57 years, including 41 at the University of Chicago (1892-1932).
Other former members of the Penn State program enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame, located in South Bend, Ind., include ex-coaches Hugo Bezdek, Rip Engle, Dick Harlow and Bob Higgins along with former players John Cappelletti, Jack Ham, Glenn Killinger, Ted Kwalick, Rich Lucas, Pete Mauthe, Shorty Miller, Lydell Mitchell, Dennis Onkotz, Mike Reid, Dave Robinson, Steve Suhey, Dexter Very, Harry Wilson and 2005 inductee Keith Dorney.
The other members of the incoming Hall of Fame class include: Bobby Anderson (Colorado); Bennie Blades (Miami, Fla.) ; Carl Eller (Minnesota); Steve Emtman (Washington); Thomas Everett (Baylor); Chad Hennings (Air Force); Chip Kell (Tennessee); Mike Phipps (Purdue); Mike Rozier (Nebraska); Jeff Siemon (Stanford); Bruce Smith (Virginia Tech); Emmitt Smith (Florida) and Charlie Ward (Florida State). Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State) will be inducted from the Divisional Class.
Additional information on the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2006 can be found at http://www.footballfoundation.com online.