Former NCAA presidents: We would have gone easier on Penn State

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - If former NCAA presidents Gene Corrigan or Cedric Dempsey were still in power, Penn State's sanctions would not have been as harsh.

"I was upset for you," the 84-year-old Corrigan told a crowd of 500 Penn State students, faculty members, and townspeople who filled the State Theatre in downtown State College on Wednesday night. "I felt you were hit in the head pretty hard."

Corrigan and Dempsey were a part of a panel discussion, "The Future of the NCAA and Its Membership." It was hosted by Penn State's John Curley Center for Sports Journalism and covered several topics, including the impact the Penn State scandal will have on the future of college athletics.

Dempsey, who served as NCAA president from 1994 to 2003, said that if he were current president Mark Emmert, the first thing he would have done was visit Penn State.

"If they're not right up in the midst of it, there's no way you can find a sensible conclusion out of it," Dempsey said. "You don't do this to your children. You find out what happened."

The Nittany Lions were slammed with a $60 million fine, a four-year postseason ban, and significant scholarship reductions based on findings of the university-sanctioned Freeh report.

"When the NCAA is focused on doing the right thing, nobody does it better," Corrigan said. "You all were just caught in the darnedest of things I've ever witnessed."

Panelist Scott Kretchmar, Penn State's former faculty NCAA representative, was the most passionate speaker. He recited passages from two pages of typed notes with a deep - and at times shaky - voice.

"Why would the Penn State case give any reason to place more confidence in the moral authority and the administrative capabilities of the NCAA?" Kretchmar asked, evoking a steady applause from the audience.

The group clapped again when Penn State trustee Anthony Lubrano stood up and faced the panel.

"We do have a culture problem," he said. "But it lies in the board of trustees."

One woman asked the panel if a letter-writing campaign to Emmert could make an impact.

"I doubt it," Dempsey replied.

Corrigan's advice to Penn Staters?

"Bury it and move on," he said. "You are a great school."