Paterno statue torn down outside Beaver Stadium

The statue of famed coach Joe Paterno statue of Joe Paterno has been taken down from outside the Penn State football stadium, and the NCAA says it will be issuing sanctions against the university.

Workers lifted the 7-foot-tall statue off its base and used a forklift to move it into Beaver Stadium as the 100 to 150 students watching chanted, “We are Penn State.”

The university announced earlier today that it was taking down the monument in the wake of an investigative report that found the late coach and three other top Penn State administrators concealed sex abuse claims against retired assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

Meanwhile, the NCAA said that that it would levy “corrective and punitive measures” against Penn State in the wake of the scandal. The organization says it will spell out the sanctions tomorrow and has disclosed no details.

NCAA President Mark Emmert hasn’t ruled out the possibility of shutting down the Penn State football program in the wake of the scandal, adding that he had “never seen anything as egregious.”

The statue, weighing more than 900 pounds, was built in 2001 in honor of Paterno’s record-setting 324th Division I coaching victory and his “contributions to the university.”

A spokeswoman for the Paterno family hasn’t returned phone and email messages. Sue Paterno and two of the Paternos’ children visited the statue Friday as students and fans lined up to get their pictures taken with it.

Construction vehicles and police arrived shortly after dawn today, barricading the street and sidewalks near the statue, erecting a chain-link fence then concealing the statue with a blue tarp. Many of those watching stared in disbelief, and at least one woman wept, while others expressed anger at the decision.

Penn State President Rod Erickson said he decided to have the statue removed and put into storage because it “has become a source of division and an obstacle to healing.”

He said Paterno’s name will remain on the campus library because it “symbolizes the substantial and lasting contributions to the academic life and educational excellence that the Paterno family has made to Penn State University.”

The statue’s sculptor, Angelo Di Maria, said it was upsetting to hear that the statue had been taken down.