Penn State Board Fires Paterno, Spanier

The Penn State Board of Trustees announced at a press conference late Wednesday that Penn State President Graham Spanier and Head Football Coach Joe Paterno have been fired, effective immediately.

A statement released by the Board said that the decisions were "in the best interest of the university."

John Surma, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees, fielded questions from reporters and said that with the information they had, the Board used their best judgment to make the decision they did.

In a statement released by Spanier, he said, "This University is a large and complex institution, and although I have always acted honorably and in the best interests of the University, the buck stops here. In this situation, I believe it is in the best interests of the University to give my successor a clear path for resolving the issues before us."