UConn football coach Paul Pasqualoni, a 1972 Penn State graduate, touched on the scandal that has rocked his alma mater during Tuesday’s media luncheon on campus.

Pasqualoni, a Cheshire native, walked on to the Nittany Lions and lettered at the school as a linebacker. He has said that he learned a lot from his time at the school and in the program.

“It’s been difficult for everybody,” Pasqualoni said. “For me, there are a couple of sides to it. First of all, I’m a Penn State alum, so I feel, as I’m sure all Penn State alums do, very bad about it. Number two, I got in this business of coaching to be a college coach, to be an educator, to work with kids. I started off as an elementary school teacher for seven years. My core values and ideals, my philosophical approach to my career is as a teacher. Even in the NFL, I still saw myself as a teacher. I was teaching older guys, that’s all.”

With UConn off last week, Pasqualoni, who has three young children, had even more time to hear of one of the most sordid stories in sports history.

 “(My kids) are involved in sports every day,” the coach said. “That part of it has been very, very difficult. But as I said earlier in the week, Penn State is a great place. It’s a great institution. Penn State is much more than just a football school. There’s much more to it than that.”