Penn State officials finally bent to public pressure on Sunday and removed the Joe Paterno statue from outside their football stadium. While that was happening, the NCAA announced a press conference for Monday morning where they're expected to level the school with "unprecedented" penalties. 

Onward State reports university President Rodney Erickson ordered the statue of Joe Paterno be removed early Sunday morning. A police barricade was set up around 6:30 a.m. while construction crews worked on the statue with jackhammers to dislodge it from the ground. It was eventually taken inside Beaver Stadium and will remain there for the time being. You can read Erickson's full statement explaining his decision here. The picture above shows the Paterno statue's famous finger raised in the air while his head is covered in protective foam as officials prepared it to be taken inside via a forklift. 

Meanwhile, the NCAA announced they're holding a press conference at Penn State on Monday morning. A source told CBS News the NCAA is expected to announce "unprecedented" penalties for the school in the wake of the Louis Freeh report. ESPN's Joe Schad is reporting the school won't be receiving the dreaded "death penalty," a one year ban of the football program, but instead are expected to face a postseason ban and loss of scholarships. New recruits will likely be allowed to transfer to new schools without facing the typical one year sitting out period. The penalty seems similar to the one handed to U.S.C. for their mishandling of recruits. 

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