Huskies head football coach Paul Pasqualoni says that for him, like all alumni of Penn State University, learning about the charges of sexual abuse of young boys by a former coach and its aftermath has been “very difficult.”

Pasqualoni, a 1972 Penn State graduate who began his professional career as an elementary school teacher before moving into coaching, addressed the Penn State situation in answer to a question during his first regular press conference following a bye week on the Huskies’ schedule. UConn will host Louisville on Saturday at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, with a noon kickoff.

Former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was indicted on charges of sexually abusing young boys earlier this month, which led to the dismissal of several prominent Penn State figures, including university president Graham B. Spanier and legendary head football coach Joe Paterno.

“I think for everybody it’s been difficult. I’m a Penn State alum and I feel, as I’m sure all Penn State alums do, very bad about it,” Pasqualoni said. “I got into this business of coaching to be a college coach, to be an educator, to work with young people. My core values and ideals, my philosophical approach to my career is as a teacher; even when I went into the NFL I still saw myself as teaching. I was just teaching older guys. That’s all. I have a 12, 11, and 9-year-old involved in sports every day, so that part of it has been very hard for me philosophically [because of] what I believe my core values are.”

Pasqualoni said that in the aftermath of the revelations against Sandusky, the Penn State Board of Trustees is acting “in the best interests of what’s good for the institution and for higher education.”

“The Board of Trustees at Penn State is doing absolutely what they think is the best thing to do for Penn State,” said Pasqualoni. “Penn State … is much more than a football school; there’s a lot more to it than that. All the way around, the answer to your question [is] it’s been pretty difficult.”