The NCAA said Sunday it will hold a news conference Monday morning to announce what are described as “corrective and punitive measures” against Penn State in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal involving the former football coach Jerry Sandusky.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association revealed no details about the penalties, which will be announced by its president, Mark Emmert, and Ed Ray, chairman of the executive committee, The New York Times reported.

In an interview last week with PBS, Emmert called Penn State’s conduct in covering up Sandusky’s behavior -- as detailed in a devastating report by ex-FBI Director Louis Freeh -- “egregious.” He did not rule out invoking the NCAA’s power to impose the so-called death penalty to shut down Penn State’s football program.

The severe penalties are likely to include a significant loss of scholarships and loss of multiple bowls, a source close to the decision told ESPN Sunday morning.

But Penn State will not receive the "death penalty" that would have suspended the program for at least one year, the source said.

The penalties, however, are considered to be so harsh that the death penalty may have been preferable, the source said.

"If I were Penn State or any other school and were given both options, I'd pick the death penalty," a source told CNN, adding the range of sanctions "is well beyond what has been done in the past" and "far worse than closing the program for a year." 

The NCAA last imposed the so-called "death penalty" to a football team in 1987 against Southern Methodist University's program in the wake of a payments-to-athletes scandal.

The CNN source says the sanctions "will really paint a picture that essentially says that leadership failure and systemic failures can't be tolerated."

Emmert wrote a letter to Penn State President Rodney Erickson on November 17, 2011, that included four questions he wanted the university to answer.

According to the source, the NCAA felt the questions were answered by the Freeh report and therefore could act before the university responded.

The source wasn't sure if the university has been made aware of the penalties yet, but says the university was not involved in the decision. It was "not a negotiated process," the source says.

While not divulging specifics, the source said, "The penalties go well beyond the loss of a scholarship or not being able to go to a bowl game."

The source also said the plan includes provisions to provide "leeway" and "minimize the impact" on current players who had nothing to do with the Sandusky scandal.

Emmert and Ray will reveal the sanctions at 9 a.m. ET in Indianapolis at the organization's headquarters. 

It is expected the NCAA Division I Board of Directors and/or the NCAA Executive Committee has granted Emmert the authority to punish through non-traditional methods, ESPN reports. 

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