Grambling weighs in on Robinson, Paterno

Jul 23, 2012 - 9:52 PM Grambling, LA (Sports Network) - Grambling University issued a statement on Monday afternoon regarding the ascension of legendary head coach Eddie Robinson to the top of the Division I college football wins list.

The missive came in the wake of the NCAA's sanctions against the Penn State football program early on Monday, which included the vacating of all wins from 1998-2011. That stripped 111 victories off the record of the late Joe Paterno, dropping him from 409 wins to 298.

Robinson regained first place with 408, having served at Grambling for six decades through 1997.

"The Grambling State University family continues to recognize that what happened at Penn State University was an unfortunate tragedy that is much larger than athletics and football," said Grambling president Frank G. Pogue, Ph.D.

"We support the NCAA's decisions regarding the sanctions against Football Coach Joe Paterno. We will continue to acknowledge the legendary Eddie G. Robinson as the winningest Division I football coach in American history.

"I have heard the name Eddie G. Robinson nearly all of my life. Having lived and worked for three years in the culture that Eddie G. Robinson created at Grambling and having spent more than 15 years as a university president in Penn State University's culture and the ever-present shadow of the legendary Joe Paterno, I can easily understand the athletic greatness of Grambling State University and Penn State. It is easy to see why these two highly successful coaching giants respected each other. Because of the human being he was known to be, Eddie G. Robinson would have been the first person to express regrets about the tragedies that occurred at Penn State that led to the removal of Joe Paterno as head football coach of the Nittany Lions, and we at Grambling State University deeply respect the decision of the NCAA to strip Penn State of its wins from 1998 through 2011.

"We are proud that Coach Eddie Robinson will remain the winningest Division I football coach in the history of college football."