STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP)—Just in time for Joe Paterno’s 82nd birthday: a three-year contract extension. Give or take a year.

A deal was struck with Penn State that will provide “for the opportunity of Coach Joe Paterno leading the football program through the 2011 season,” the athletic department said Tuesday in a brief statement.

That means the Hall of Famer and major college football’s all-time winningest coach could lead the Nittany Lions into his mid-80s.

 JoePa didn’t need something in writing to keep a job he’s had a record 43 years.

Paterno’s current deal had expired after this season.

“There’s no reason for me not to think that I can go for a while,” he said last week when asked how much longer he could coach. “Now how long is a while? I don’t know.”

Questions about the contract have dogged Spanier and Paterno through the year, a season that started with much of the media spotlight on Penn State players’ off-field problems in the offseason.

A hip injury suffered two days before the season opener also hobbled him all year, and eventually kept him from pacing the sideline the last seven weeks of the season. That led to more speculation about whether or not he would even be healthy enough to coach in 2009.

It turns out Joe’s a go for next year after all.

An 11-1 season exceeded the expectations of most preseason prognosticators and catapulted the No. 6 Nittany Lions back atop the Big Ten. He said after a Nov. 22 win over Michigan State that he planned to return next season, as Spanier and athletic director Tim Curley watched nearby.

Paterno had hip replacement surgery the next day, a procedure that appears to have him in much better shape.

He’s easing back into his coaching routine, with a goal of returning to the sideline for the Rose Bowl against No. 5 Southern California on New Year’s Day. Paterno plans to make a final decision after he tests his legs during practices in California, which start on Sunday—his 82nd birthday.