The lawyer in charge of athletic integrity oversight at Pennsylvania State University (PSU) released a glowing review of the school's actions in repairing the damage done by the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal.
Charles Scheeler, the appointed monitor from the law firm DLA Piper LLP, deemed PSU's efforts proactive and decided to end his oversight two years early, The Associated Press reported.
The NCAA, Big Ten Conference, and PSU crafted the Athletics Integrity Agreement (AIA) to set out various reforms for the school to make in light of the allegations of athletic and administrative officials covering up for a sexual predator. Scheeler released his third annual report Tuesday, proposing his monitorship conclude at year's end.
"Given Penn State's accomplishments and the commitments made by President Barron to continue these reforms, I recommended that the monitorship conclude at the end of the 2015 calendar year," Scheeler said in a press release. "This would end the monitorship a full twenty months before the end of the five-year term called for in the AIA. This recommendation is contingent only upon the absence of any material adverse events occurring between now and year's end, which I believe to be a highly unlikely possibility."
The NCAA has lessened its historically harsh sanctions against PSU, citing good behavior as well. While the $60 million fine stood, the NCAA decided to restore the late football coach Joe Paterno's previously vacated wins, placing back at the top of the sport's all-time wins list. The NCAA also ended early the team's scholarship reduction and bowl ban.
"The end of this monitorship, essentially two years early, is the result of a focused, dedicated effort on the part of Penn State, and an awful lot of hard work from many, many individuals, from the Board of Trustees on down," Eric Barron, PSU's president, said in a press release. "It is yet another significant milestone in the University's recovery from an extraordinarily difficult and challenging set of circumstances, and I would be remiss if I did not recognize Penn State leaders and employees who worked diligently to implement hundreds of significant and meaningful changes in a short period of time, changes that have made us a leader in higher education on compliance issues."