STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – A potential exodus of star athletes. No hope of playing in the postseason. More than a decade of accomplishments erased from the record books. Joe Paterno’s legacy in shreds.

Penn State football, a longtime powerhouse that was once one of the cleanest, most admired programs in college sports, escaped the so-called death penalty from the NCAA on Monday but was dealt a heavy blow that will cripple it for years to come.

The university agreed to an unprecedented $60 million fine, a 4-year ban from postseason play and a cut in the number of football scholarships it can award – the price it will pay for having looked the other way while Jerry Sandusky brought boys onto campus and molested them.