Joe Paterno was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football team. Paterno served as head coach from the retirement of Rip Engle after the 1965 season until November 9, 2011, marking his 46th year as head coach. He was released from his duties after allegations were made that former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky had been involved in a child abuse sex scandal since 1998. His teams played their home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, PA. Penn State started playing in the Big Ten Conference in 1993.