Maxwell Football Club to end award

Published Nov. 28, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

The Maxwell Football Club, which presents a number of awards to recognize excellence across all levels of American football, announced Monday it will no longer hand out the Joseph V. Paterno award for coaching.

The club, based in Ambler, Pa., introduced the award in 2010 to "to honor the spirit of Coach Paterno, whose longtime success on the field has been matched only by his impact away from it," the Allentown Morning Call reported.

Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer won the award last year and is its only recipient.

It was announced earlier this month that Paterno's name would be removed from the Big Ten Conference championship trophy following Penn State's child sex abuse scandal.

The Stagg-Paterno Championship Trophy — originally named after the former Penn State football coach and fellow Hall of Fame coach Amos Alonzo Stagg — now is called the Stagg Championship Trophy.

Paterno, 84, was fired as coach after 46 years earlier this month because of the scandal involving former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, who has been charged for sexually assaulting eight boys over a period of 15 years.

Also on Monday, Penn State announced a six-person search committee that will identify candidates to replace Paterno. Interim athletic director David Joyner will serve as its chairman.