STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State University on Friday informed its merchandise vendors they had 60 days to remove all items linked to former head football coach Joe Paterno.
The university sent letters to its licensees notifying them that all remaining merchandise depicting the legendary coach’s name or likeness must be pulled from the shelves by the deadline, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
Paterno, who turns 85 later this month, was fired from his job in November in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal involving former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
The iconic coach, who led the Nittany Lions football program for 46 years, became the all-time wins leader in Division I football history in October with his 409th win. Paterno’s firing on Nov. 10 sparked massive student protests on the Penn State campus in State College, Pa.
Paterno has largely remained out of the public eye following his termination from Penn State and the announcement that he was recently diagnosed with a treatable form of lung cancer.