Paterno to be featured on Wheaties box

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Penn State coach Joe Paterno will join the legions of sports heroes who have been honored with one of the sports world's most recognized awards -- the front of the Wheaties cereal box.

Paterno, the all-time leader in career wins by a major college football coach, will be featured on a special edition box to be distributed in Pennsylvania and surrounding states starting Thursday.

The breakfast cereal has honored college coaches as far back as 1937, when a series of boxes honored coaches including Minnesota's Bernie Bierman and Fordham's Jim Crowley. Nebraska's Tom Osborne appeared on the box in 1997.

"Joe Paterno obviously is a true icon among coaches," said Brian Kittelson, Wheaties' marketing manager. "Honoring Coach Paterno is especially significant in that it takes Wheaties back to its roots in the 1930s and '40s, when college coaches made regular appearances on the package."