Curley Takes Leave of Absence

Following an emergency meeting of the Penn State Board of Trustees Sunday night, the university announced that athletic director Tim Curley has been placed on administrative leave.

Members of Penn State’s Board of Trustees and President Graham Spanier received a request from athletic director Tim Curley to be placed on administrative leave so he can devote the time needed to defend himself against recent allegations by the Pennsylvania Attorney General.

The wording indicates that Curley initiated the leave, but that semantic distinction was quite likely done as a courtesy given the seriousness of the charges he is facing - perjury and failure to report suspect child abuse, related to the horrific Jerry Sandusky scandal.

Senior Associate Athletic Director Mark Sherburne will now serve as interim athletic director. Shelburne is a long-time athletic administrator whose involvement with Penn State sports dates back to his playing for the football team in 1986 and 1987, and for the baseball team from 1989 through 1991. He has a business logistics degree and a master's degree in education from PSU and has spent essentially his entire adult life working for the athletic department, first as an academic counselor, then in his current position, which seems like good preparation for an athletic director's role.

[He] oversees the Student-Athlete Services Office and serves as a liaison between Intercollegiate Athletics and Admissions, the Registrar's office, the Bursar's Office, the Financial Aid office, the Morgan Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes, International Student Services, Risk Management, Housing and Food Services and Judicial Affairs.

He works directly with all 29 [cough, cough, 31] varsity athletic teams and is also responsible for overseeing the athletic grant-in-aid process, maintaining official NCAA squad and Big Ten eligibility lists, and University admissions and NCAA Clearinghouse procedures for incoming recruits, both first-year students and transfers. In addition, he serves as the administrator for the Penn State Varsity "S" Club and the Football Letterman's Club.

TYT wishes Sherburne, who seems more than capable of running the athletic department and who is now thrust into the spotlight under the most difficult of circumstances, its best.

Because Curley now does not have oversight over the hockey programs, this will likely be the last mention of this situation on TYT until his status with the university changes or his case is adjudicated.