On February 19, 1966, Joseph Vincent Paterno became the 14th head coach of the Nittany Lions, changing the fortunes of Penn State football forever. Paterno took the reins of a good program and made it great, leading the Lions to two National Championships and five perfect seasons in his first 33 seasons. But more than just winning and losing, Paterno proved that the terms "student" and "athlete" do not need to be contradictory. He called it the "Grand Experiment," and set to prove, as 1972 All-American linebacker John Skorupan put it, "That football players can get an education and can talk; that they're no dumb jocks." Paterno's approach worked, and year-in and year-out the Lions field outstanding teams made up of players who graduate. A 1996 NCAA report showed that Penn State had graduated 87 percent of its 1989-90 recruiting class. Its four-year graduation average of 74 percent was second-best among Division I-A schools in the final 1998 national rankings... Book Joe Paterno for Your Event

Providing the Nittany Lions with the weapons to achieve success, not securing his place in history, is Joe Paterno's uppermost consideration. "Throughout my life I have always had the ability to concentrate on what has to be done and not worry about things I can't do anything about," Paterno has said. " If I can do something about it, I go after it and try to get it done by giving my best shot. If I succeed, fine, but if I fail I put it behind me." Paterno's "best shot" has brought him 300 coaching victories, a neighborhood with only four other major college coaches in residence, all legends of the game. Bear Bryant leads with 323 victories followed by Pop Warner with 319, Amos Alonzo Stagg with 314 and Bobby Bowden 302 and counting, who reached the plateau this fall. Paterno has won more Bowl games (20) than any coach in NCAA annals. Penn State's 1999 Alamo Bowl appearance, Paterno's 30th bowl game during his tenure breaks the mark of Bear Bryant, who guided teams to a record 29 Bowl games in his career.

Since Paterno took over in 1966, Penn State has had at least one first-team All-America 31 times, including LaVar Arrington, Courtney Brown and Brandon Short of the 1999 team. Over the same span, Paterno has produced 20 first-team Academic All-Americans, 14 National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Scholar-Athletes, and 16 NCAA post-graduate scholarship winners. The pattern for success is as simple as Paterno's philosophy: "Football a high second, but academics an undisputed first."

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