Penn State Punished -- $60 MILLION Fine ... BANNED from Bowls

11:00 AM PT -- Joe Paterno's family just responded to the NCAA sanctions, claiming they "defame the legacy and contributions of a great coach and educator without any input from our family or those who knew him best."

The family adds, "Punishing past, present and future students of the University because of Sandusky's crimes does not serve justice. This is not a fair or thoughtful action; it is a panicked response to the public's understandable revulsion at what Sandusky did."

6:26 AM PT -- Well, that didn't take long -- a PSU football recruit has ALREADY decommitted to the school.

Ross Douglas -- a cornerback from Ohio -- will no longer attend PSU in the Fall. No word on where he will play.

Penn State University was just hit with a $60 million sanction by the NCAA for its role in covering up the Jerry Sandusky child rape scandal.

And it gets worse -- or better -- depending for whom you're rooting.

NCAA President Mark Emmert just announced ... PSU will be BANNED from bowl games for the next 4 years. The NCAA will also vacate all PSU football wins from 1998 to 2011.

The elimination of PSU wins will have a dramatic effect on Joe Paterno's all-time career win record. In fact, he will lose 111 total wins from his record -- dropping him BEHIND Florida State football legend Bobby Bowden and Alabama's Bear Bryant. Paterno will go from #3 all time to #12.

Penn State's football team will also have its football scholarships reduced from 25 to 15 per year for the next 4 years.

All PSU football players are allowed to transfer out of the school to any other school as soon as possible ... while keeping full eligibility. In other words, a PSU player can transfer to Ohio State next season and start immediately.

Football players are also allowed to quit the football team and keep their scholarships while continuing to attend the university in pursuit of a degree.

The PSU athletic program will be on probation for 5 years.

The NCAA said it reserves the right to launch an investigation into individuals to impose even more sanctions, if necessary.

The $60 million fine is equivalent to the football program's gross revenue for 1 season.

The NCAA said the money "must be paid into an endowment for external programs preventing child sexual abuse or assisting victims and may not be used to fund such programs at the university."

The NCAA said it considered the "death penalty" -- the elimination of the school's football program for 1 season -- but decided the punishment it chose will have a deeper impact in changing the culture at Penn State.

PSU signed a consent decree -- which means the University is on board with all of the sanctions.