STATE COLLEGE, PA (AP) -- Penn State fans are gathering at a statue of longtime coach Joe Paterno after his family announced he died Sunday.
Fifty to 75 fans had gathered late Sunday morning and more are streaming in. In front of the statue lies candles, posters, flowers, T-shirts and pom-poms.
Steve Wrath is a 1984 Penn State alum who drove to the statue outside the university's football stadium after hearing of Paterno's death. He says Paterno "has done so much for this university, community and the state of Pennsylvania."
He says the circumstances of the child sex abuse scandal that has rocked the program were unthinkable and he doesn't want to belittle the possible abuse victims but believes that Paterno's legacy will overcome it.
Penn State's football coach says following Joe Paterno in the job is an honor.
Bill O'Brien said in a statement Sunday after Paterno died that the school and all college football have suffered a great loss.
Paterno, who won more games than any other major college coach, was fired in November in the midst of a child sex abuse scandal that centered on a retired Penn State assistant coach. The school hired O'Brien, the New England Patriots offensive coordinator, this month.
He says Penn State is one of the game's iconic programs because "it was led by an icon in the coaching profession."
He also offers condolences to Paterno's family on behalf of the team.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is also expressing his condolences on the death of longtime Penn State coach Joe Paterno.
Corbett says he and his wife were saddened to learn of Paterno's death Sunday.
Corbett cites Paterno's record of having won more football games than any other major college coach and also his generosity to Penn State "as an institution and to his players."
He says Paterno, as both a man and a coach, met adversity "with grace and forbearance."
Corbett says, "His place in our state's history is secure."
The Pennsylvania hospital where Joe Paterno died confirms that the cause was a spreading lung cancer.
Mount Nittany Medical Center says in a statement that Paterno died at 9:25 a.m. Sunday of "metastatic small cell carcinoma of the lung." Metastatic indicates an illness that has spread from one part of the body to an unrelated area.
The hospital says Paterno was surrounded by family members, who have requested privacy.
Paterno's son had said in November that his father had been diagnosed with a treatable form of lung cancer during a follow-up visit for a bronchial illness.
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