Joe Paterno's 372 wins place him second among major college coaches. He is a five-time national coach of the year and he has a university library named in his and his wife's honor.
Now he shares a common tie to 20 other players and coaches connected to the university that has been his life's work for 58 years -- a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Paterno and 18 others were enshrined Saturday night during a ceremony at college football's Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind. The honor left Paterno flattered.
"I appreciate the fact that people have said, 'Hey, you've been an asset to college football and we want to acknowledge that,' '' Paterno said.
Paterno was inducted into the Hall of Fame in December, but Saturday's enshrinement had several distinctions that included more interactive components such as a parade, flag football game and less of a regal atmosphere than the black-tie affair at Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
A question-and-answer session also accompanied Saturday's ceremony. Among the guests in the balcony who were spotlighted to speak about Paterno were running back greats Franco Harris, fellow Hall of Famer Lydell Mitchell and Charlie Pittman.
"I think we told him there may be some guys that will rough you up a bit, take a couple shots at you," said Guido D'Elia, Penn State's football communications and branding director. "He said let them try. ... That was a special moment."
Paterno's enshrinement is unusual in that only two other coaches, Florida State's Bobby Bowden -- college football's all-time wins leader -- and former Saint John's University head coach John Gagliardi became members while still actively coaching.
The members of Paterno's class have moved on with their college football careers. Some, like former Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie and former Oregon running back Ahmad Rashad, shifted into television.
Paterno, meanwhile, is preparing for his 43rd season as head coach.
"I'd rather do it now than when I'm dead," he quipped about his latest honor during a news conference preceding his enshrinement.
His membership into the wing of college football's Hall of Fame was originally set in 2006, when Bowden and Gagliardi joined the fraternity of coaches to be honored. Paterno's recognition was delayed as he recuperated from health setbacks, notably a broken shin and two torn ligaments sustained when tight end Andrew Quarless rolled into him during a sideline collision at Wisconsin.
Quarless also cracked three of Paterno's ribs that same year during practice.
Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli, director of athletic medicine, hasn't seen anything quite like Paterno's durability.
"Not at the level he's at," he said Sunday afternoon. "At the physical and mental level he's participating in, he's definitely at the top of his class."
Former director of the All-Sports Museum at Beaver Stadium and author of the Penn State football encyclopedia Lou Prato has been around Paterno for 50 years. In that time, he has seen Paterno stick to his convictions and stand by his players.
Racially charged tensions in Texas in 1969, along with a desire to spend a bowl game in Florida, prompted Penn State's players to vote on playing in the Orange Bowl instead of the Cotton Bowl. Penn State beat No. 6 Missouri, 10-3, to finish 11-0 but was denied a share of the national title when President Richard Nixon deemed Texas the national champions after beating Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl.
The incident was the genesis of Paterno's desire for a playoff system, a stance he still advocates.
Paterno came under more fire in 2000 when he supported Rashard Casey, who had been charged with assaulting an off-duty police officer. A grand jury cleared Casey after six months of debate over whether Casey should have been kicked off the team.
"Joe's constantly in the limelight," Prato said Sunday afternoon. "Constantly involved in some type of 'controversy' because he's always been an outspoken person and he's always stood up for his rights."
Those principles factored into a gut-wrenching decision for Paterno in 1973. The New England Patriots came calling with a staggering offer to entice Paterno to come to the NFL -- reports pegged the contract offer at $1.3 million over six years, and Jay Paterno said New England offered 8 percent ownership.
"He should have taken it, in my mind," Jay Paterno said, laughing, at Lift for Life two weeks ago. "The point being, he didn't come back to the university and say, 'I'm thinking about taking this, but I want this instead.' That's not how it works these days."
Paterno has stayed for 35 years since and could stay even longer. His contract expires at the end of this season, but Penn State President Graham Spanier, Athletic Director Tim Curley and Paterno have all agreed no contract is necessary if the Hall of Famer wants to continue coaching.
"This guy is a throwback," Jay Paterno said. "You know what? Everybody better enjoy what they've got. ... Twenty-five years from now, when he finally retires, a couple years after that, you're gonna go, 'Boy, we miss Joe. We really had something unique and special.' "
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
