(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.

(writing by Dan Burns and Barbara Goldberg)