The NCAA has removed the final two years of Penn State's football postseason ban while restoring the program to a full allotment of scholarships beginning with the 2015-16 season.

In a statement released Monday, the NCAA executive committee said it witnessed significant progress made by Penn State to comply with the sanctions it imposed on the athletic department in July of 2012 for its role in the child molestation scandal involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

The reduction of penalties were also made upon recommendations from former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, who had monitoring Penn State's compliance with the athletic integrity agreement it made with the NCAA.

The Nittany Lions are now eligible to participate in both a bowl game as well as the Big Ten Championship Game this season. Penn State had previously been forbidden from postseason play in 2014 and 2015 as part of the penalties levied against the school by the NCAA.

Penn State still must vacate all its football wins between 1998 and 2011 and remains on probation through the 2016-17 academic year. The $60 million fine the university was handed by the NCAA also still remains in effect.

The football program currently has a 75-player scholarship limit, up from 65 after Mitchell positively graded the athletic department in his first annual report, and will now return to the maximum 85 scholarships beginning next season.