They didn’t take a formal vote, but the vast majority of Penn State trustees voiced support for the university president’s acceptance of severe penalties imposed by the NCAA over the school’s handling of a child molestation scandal.

Board chairwoman Karen Peetz told fellow trustees during a Sunday evening conference call the panel could not vote because 10 days notice of the meeting was required, an objection two members raised at the outset of the call. But more than two dozen members of the 32-member board then voiced support for President Rodney Erickson’s decision and a desire to move forward, although many criticized the NCAA sanctions themselves.

The NCAA last month barred the school from postseason play for four years, fined it $60 million, stripped it of future scholarships and invalidated 112 of the football team’s wins over the handling of abuse complaints against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, who was convicted in June of 45 child sexual abuse counts. It cited “an unprecedented failure of institutional integrity leading to a culture in which a football program was held in higher esteem” than the university’s values.

Gene Marsh, an attorney and former NCAA infractions official, told trustees Sunday that attempts to mitigate the sanctions went nowhere and they were essentially forced on the university. He said most NCAA board members favored the so-called “death penalty” for multiple years, and even more sanctions beyond that.