Irv Pankey

During his playing career at Penn State, he reached out to Betsy Sailor, a student who had been raped by then-Penn State player Todd Hodne in 1978, and had experienced harassment after having testified against Hodne at his trial. In a 2022 ESPN story on Hodne, who would sexually assault nearly a dozen other women before being convicted of murder, Sailor recalled Pankey telling her, "I just wanted to let you know that I was in the courtroom today and I listened to what you had to say. And I believe every word that you said. And, you will never have to be afraid, or be alone again. I will be by your side." Pankey and Sailor would lose contact after they graduated from Penn State, but would be reunited while the ESPN story was being researched.[1]

Pankey has twin sons who played college football for Oregon State; Keith Pankey played linebacker, and his brother, Kevin, was a tight end.[2] He has a daughter, Kiley, who attended Mt. Whitney High School in Visalia, California. Pankey served as a professor and offensive line coach at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California.[2] Pankey also helps out at football camps such as Linemen Inc.