The NCAA slammed the school on Monday with an unprecedented series of penalties. They include a $60 million fine, the loss of all coach Joe Paterno's victories from 1998 through last year, and a ban on bowl games for four years.
The penalties come after the cover-up of the sex scandal surrounding assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
"For the next 4 to 5 years Penn State is not going to be Penn State when it comes to football," said Notre Dame finance professor Richard Sheehan, who specializes in the economics of sports.
It's more than blemish on their reputation. Some say Penn State is permanently under a dark cloud.
"I don't know how you ever go back from that," said local football fan Dan Pietrus.
An independent report found that former football coach Joe Paterno and other University officials covered up former football coach Jerry Sandusky's criminal acts for years.
"The sanctions are for the institution as a whole, not just the athletic department," Sheehan said. "Why does the NCAA think they can get involved in this issue?"
Sheehan said this is a wakeup call for any college or university.
The crime here has nothing to do with football itself but the NCAA can still rule on it.
What about football fans? Do they think the NCAA overstepped it's boundaries on this case?
"Clearly no one who could have done something did something, so you need to have someone get involved, and I guess that's where the NCAA comes in," Pietrus said.
"I don't think its strict at all," Cole Mann from Plymouth said. "I think that's what should happen because they kept it a secret for so long."
Some football fans said the punishment fits the crime.
"If they would have came clean in the beginning the violations would have been lighter," said football fan Stepen Dickson from Plymouth.
For some, the game will always be tainted. Others now think differently of Penn State's legendary coach, Joe Paterno.
And for one soon to be college football player, Penn State will forever be associated with Jerry Sandusky and his mistakes.
"I'm going to play ball somewhere, and if I was committed there I would definitely decommit," Mann said.
