(Reuters) - The National Collegiate Athletic Association on Monday banned Penn State University from post-season bowl games for four years, fined the university $60 million and imposed other sanctions in an unprecedented punishment for its inaction when officials were alerted to child sex abuse by former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

At a news conference in Indianapolis, NCAA Mark Emmert said Penn State football scholarships would be reduced to 15 from 25 and team wins would be vacated from 1998-2011.

The governing body for U.S. college sports opted not to levy the so-called death penalty that would eliminate an entire season or more for the scandal-scarred football program.

In June, Sandusky was convicted of sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years. This month, former FBI director Louis Freeh released a report that criticized longtime head football coach Joe Paterno for his role in protecting Sandusky, and the school's image, at the expense of Sandusky's young victims.

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