The Penn State Nittany Lions will be eligible for postseason play immediately, after the NCAA rewarded the team by lifting part of the historic sanctions imposed in 2012.

In an announcement released Monday, the NCAA said its executive committee will lift the team's postseason ban right away and restore all the team's 85 scholarships starting in 2015. The NCAA said it accepted the recommendations from George Mitchell, an athletics integrity monitor assigned to track Penn State's case.

When the NCAA levied its sanctions against Penn State for the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, the school was also given a set of recommendations to adopt. Mitchell was appointed to track the team's progress in making them.

"Penn State's commitment to the integrity of its athletics department and its progress toward meeting the requirements of the Consent Decree are clear," said Northern Arizona President Rita Hartung Cheng, Northern Arizona University president and the chair of Monday's meeting, said in the announcement. "We thank Senator Mitchell for his meticulous and exhaustive work over the past two years. Mitchell's efforts and the dedication of Penn State officials made today's decisions possible."

Also among the sanctions were the vacation of 112 wins under Joe Paterno, a $60 million fine and a temporary loss of scholarships. Penn State will get all 85 scholarships back next season. Penn State has also cleaned house of any football staffer who served under Paterno. The school has also found permanent replacements at president and athletic director.

The Nittany Lions are 2-0 this year after beating UCF in Dublin, Ireland and Akron at home. Next, they will play Rutgers on the road before hosting UMass and Northwestern at home in the next three weeks.

Michigan made themselves look weak after losing 31-0 against Notre Dame and Penn State could theoretically go into Ann Arbor to play the Wolverines with a 5-0 record. With a week off in between, the Lions will host Ohio State, also coming off a loss, in week seven. However, the Lions' biggest test will come on the final game of the season when they host Michigan State.

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