Penn State coach Joe Paterno: I'm quitting at the end of the season

Penn State University football coach Joe Paterno, one of the most revered figures in U.S. sports, said on Wednesday he will retire at the end of the 2011 season in the wake of a scandal over a former assistant coach's alleged sexual abuse of boys and cover-up by school officials.

In a statement, Paterno termed the developing events a tragedy.

"With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more," he said.

According to published reports, he made the decision to quit before university officials decided whether or not to give him the boot.

Paterno has become engulfed in a firestorm following the arrest Saturday of former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, who is suspected of molesting eight boys from 1994 to 2009 and faces 40 criminal counts. Sandusky has maintained his innocence.

Paterno knew of at least one alleged assault in 2002 between Sandusky and a young boy in the college's locker room shower, and reported it to university administrators, police officials said. Critics say he should have done more.