Malloys endow head football coach position in honor of Paterno

Malloys endow head football coach position in honor of Paterno

University Park, Pa. — On the eve of Penn State Head Coach Joe Paterno's induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, two longtime friends of the Paterno family announced their intention to endow the position that Coach Paterno has held for 42 years. Patrick and Candace Malloy of Key Largo, Fla., have committed $5 million to create the Malloy Paterno Head Football Coach Endowment at Penn State.

The endowment will be the largest individual gift in the history of Penn State intercollegiate athletics.

The Malloys planned the gift as a surprise for Paterno, according to Director of Athletics Tim Curley. He announced the gift to the coach and other attendees at a private reception in New York on Monday (Dec. 3), the day before the hall of fame ceremony.

"We are here tonight to celebrate Joe Paterno's legendary career as one of the greatest coaches in the history of college football," said Curley. "We are also here to celebrate the generosity and loyalty that he has inspired in the Malloy family. Their gift will ensure that Joe's legacy of leadership continues for generations to come."

Patrick and Candace Malloy said they intend their gift to honor not only the coach's achievements on the field, but also the values that Joe Paterno and his wife, Sue, share off the field with players and the University community.

"All of Penn State has benefited from Joe's commitment to success with honor," said Patrick Malloy, a 1965 alumnus of the University. "He is so much more than a coach — he's an educator. He teaches his players how to win in life as well as in football, and he teaches every Penn State fan how to make the world a better place through integrity, honesty, and excellence. We are also fortunate enough to know Sue Paterno, and we have the deepest admiration for her volunteer and philanthropic leadership at Penn State and beyond."

The Malloys' gift will provide important resources for the football program, said University President Graham B. Spanier.

"It will allow Joe and his successors to build upon the tradition of achievement that Coach Paterno has already has established," Spanier said. "The University is deeply grateful to the Malloys for this extraordinary gift, and we know that it will inspire other alumni and friends to new levels of generosity in our coming fundraising campaign."

The University invests endowed gifts in perpetuity and uses a portion of the annual income for the purposes intended by the donor. The remaining income is added to the principal to protect it from inflation and ensure its growth.

Income from the Malloy Paterno Head Football Coach Endowment will be directed, at the head coach's discretion and with approval from the director of athletics, to purposes ranging from academic support and special medical care for team members, to expenses associated with recruitment of student athletes and coaching expenses, excluding salary supplements. Penn State intercollegiate athletics receives no state support for its programs and must cover the cost of fielding 29 varsity teams from ticket revenues and private giving.

The Paternos themselves have been major donors and fundraisers for Penn State, and Coach Paterno said he was deeply moved by the Malloys' gift.

"Pat and Candace are great friends and great leaders for Penn State," he said. "Honestly, this means just as much to me as making it into the Hall of Fame. I can't imagine a better surprise — I guess Christmas came early this year."

Joe Paterno's Penn State career began in 1950, when he joined the football staff headed by Rip Engle, his former coach at Brown University. Paterno took on the head coach position when Engle retired in 1966, and he has now passed the University of Chicago's Amos Alonzo Stagg for longevity at a single institution. Selected an unparalleled five times as the American Football Coaches Association Coach of the Year, Paterno has led the Nittany Lions to two national championships and 22 bowl wins. His teams regularly have one of the best graduation rates in the nation, and Paterno has helped 27 players to become first-team Academic All-Americans.

Patrick Malloy earned a B.S. in business administration from Penn State and played three years of varsity lacrosse. He went on to serve in the U.S. Army as an armor officer, and was later assigned to an elite Green Beret unit during the Vietnam War. He received a Bronze Star as well as two Army medals, and the Vietnamese government's Cross of Gallantry.

Upon returning from Vietnam, Malloy was two-time captain of the U.S. Sailing Team, winning the silver medal in England for the United States, as well as later winning the gold medal in Sardinia for the United States.

After an early career in commodities, Malloy formed his own real estate company. Today he is president and CEO of Malloy Enterprises and chairman of the board of publicly traded Goodrich Petroleum Co., as well as several other companies he owns privately.

Patrick Malloy and Candace Corbett were married in 1981. They have two daughters, Kate and Maggie. The Malloys live in Key Largo, and Sag Harbor, N.Y.