Study: After Sandusky Case, 4 of 5 BCS Schools Reviewed Policies

By Eddie Pells

The Associated Press

As they watched Penn State struggle to contain a child sex-abuse scandal that ruined its once-pristine name and took down the mightiest of college coaches, schools around the country realized they needed to examine what they were doing so they wouldn't see their reputations destroyed, as well.

In all, 55 of 69 BCS football schools - 79.7 percent of those playing at the highest level in college - either reviewed or strengthened their policies regarding minors on campus in the wake of the case involving Jerry Sandusky, an Associated Press review found.

While schools were rewriting their rules, no fewer than 32 state governments were also reviewing their statutes, with at least 18 of those adopting new laws, most of them adding university employees and volunteers to the list of those required to report child sex abuse.

In November 2011, Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant coach, was arrested on 40 child sexual abuse counts. More counts were included in December, and some were dropped at the start of his trial.

He was convicted on 45 of those counts and is serving a prison term of 30 to 60 years. Within days of his arrest, coach Joe Paterno was fired and the school president, Graham Spanier, was forced out.