Pa. House Leader: The NCAA Has Not Heard Us

State Rep. Frank Dermody released a statement on Tuesday after the NCAA announced only one-quarter of the $60 million endowment fund would remain in the state.

On Monday, Dermody announced he was in contact with the NCAA regarding its task force and the distribution of the funds, which will come out of Penn State in five $12 million installments and will go toward organizations that support the prevention and awareness of child sexual abuse and offer victim treatment.

The NCAA announced on Tuesday it has created a 10-person task force to decide where the money Penn State was fined by the NCAA in July after Jerry Sandusky was convicted of rampant child sexual abuse in June. 

Penn State was permitted to name two individuals to the task force. 

In his statement, Dermody, the Pa. House leader, said:

‘It is good to see two Pennsylvania members of the task force, and to hear that at least one-quarter of the money will be used in Pennsylvania. But this still falls short of the expectations of Pennsylvania’s child abuse prevention and victim advocacy community. The NCAA obviously is listening, but they have not yet heard us.

‘This endowment, created in the wake of a Pennsylvania tragedy, is funded by Pennsylvania money. There is no question that every single dollar from that endowment should be used to fund Pennsylvania-based child sexual abuse programs.

‘Harsh state budget cuts led to reduction and even elimination of programs to help victims here. As the task force develops a philosophy for using the endowment, they need to ensure that Pennsylvania victims are not forgotten and are treated fairly.’