JoePa’s gifts arrive a little early

Christmas came a bit early for Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.

The whole world wanted to know just how much money Paterno wheeled to the bank each year. His salary was revealed at $512,000 and it all came about following a lengthy court battle between the university and a newspaper.

Paterno has never made it a big deal as to the amount of his salary and could not have cared less if anyone knew what he was making. A lot of his money has been returned to PSU in the way of gifts including a new library constructed on campus.

At a private reception in New York recently, Paterno, in town to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, learned of a huge surprise … a $5 million donation to endow the position he has occupied for so many seasons. The gift came from two friends of Paterno, Patrick and Candace Malloy of Key Largo, Fla. With friends like that who needs enemies?

Paterno was highly surprised when learning of the gift and said, it meant as much to him as making it into the Hall of Fame. I imagine both meant an awful lot to the Nittany Lion mentor.

The money may be utilized to enhance the football program at PSU, including things like academic support, special medical care for team members and expenses associated with recruiting, excluding salary.

That’s two very nice Christmas presents for Paterno who is planning on coaching for a couple more years.

The Washington & Jefferson College men and Westminster College women are in the lead following the competition of the fall sports season in the race for the 2007-08 Presidents’ Athletic Conference All-Sports Trophies.

The All-Sports Trophies will be awarded to the schools which perform the best across the board in league competition. First-place finishes are worth eight points (seven for men), second place is worth seven points (six for men) and last place is worth one point.

On the men’s side, the Presidents captured both the football and soccer tiles in the fall to post 20 points, followed by Grove City (15), Westminster (13) Bethany (11), Waynesburg (10), Thomas More (9), and Thiel (7).

The women’s race saw the Lady Titans capture league titles in volleyball and soccer to record 28 points, edging Grove City (27), followed by Washington & Jefferson (23), Waynesburg (20.5), Thomas More (15), Bethany (12,5), Chatham (6.5) and Thiel (4.5).

It’s great to be an outstanding athlete, but in addition, being dubbed an Outstanding SAAC Scholar Athlete, doubles, the admiration.

The Presidents’ Athletic Conference announced that Washington & Jefferson Beth Mihalik (Slippery Rock High School) and Waynesburg’s Brad Davis (Albert Gallatin High) have been named PAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Scholar Athletes of the Month of October.

The selections we announced by Joe Onderko, executive director of the PAC.

Mihalik is a senior middle hitter for the Presidents volleyball team which reached the semifinals of the PAC and ECAC championships.

She ranked eighth in the PAC with 0.90 blocks per game. She earned second team Academic All-District II College Division honors by ESPN/The Magazine and the College Sports Information Directors of America this season.

In the classroom she carries a 3,99 cumulative grade-point average while holding a double major in business administration and psychology.

Davis is a junior on the Yellow Jacket men’s soccer team and has been the starting goalkeeper since his freshman season.

He started 11 of 13 games he played in 2007 while leading his team in goals against average.

He has been named to the PAC Academic Honor Roll twice and maintains a 3.96 cumulative GPA as a forensic science major.