Watch Video Interviews Following the Filming

Photo Gallery

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Joe Paterno and Mike Krzyzewski are the benchmarks for success in their respective sports.

Measuring that success goes far beyond wins and losses on the hardwood or gridiron, too.  Those two men have erected the blueprint for how successful programs in college athletics should be run.

It is hard to believe the invitation-only audience had the opportunity to witness two coaches on one stage with a combined 1,301 victories and six national championships, but it's easy to see why these two men will go down as two of the greatest coaches of all time after spending a few hours listening to them.

Ironically, though, Paterno and Krzyzewski had never met prior to Monday in Happy Valley.  The two spent lunchtime together in the Lasch Football Building before making the short drive across Bigler Road to Eisenhower Auditorium.

When the duo walked into the auditorium through a side door before heading into a dressing room, it looked as though they had known one another for decades.  The same was true on stage during the made-for-TV filming.  Paterno and Krzyzewski shared plenty of philosophies on stage, but they also kept things very lighthearted.

The show, moderated by ESPN's Rece Davis, "Difference Makers: Life Lessons with Paterno and Krzyzewski" is scheduled to air June 30 at 8 p.m. on ESPN (The show will continue at 9 p.m. on ESPNU).  It's something you will not want to miss.  For fans of college sports, the content was priceless.

Davis was spot-on during his introduction when he said that Paterno and Krzyzewski account for "everything that is right in college sports."  The coaching legends will likely go down as the top coaches in their respective sports, but as Coach K said it is not just winning on the field, it is about winning in life.

"What (Paterno) has been able to do is change how you teach, without changing the values of how you teach," said Krzyzewski.

Though generations have changed, the standard of excellence has never wavered for Paterno and Krzyzewski.  Coach K joked with the audience that he felt like Coach Paterno's statue outside of Beaver Stadium should be bigger than it is.

Paterno (45 years) and Krzyzewski (31 years) have been at Penn State and Duke for a combined 76 years.  It is unprecedented for coaches to remain at one institution for that length of time in the modern era of college athletics.

Tenures stretching more than 30 seasons at one institution may never happen again.  That's what made Monday's filming of "Difference Makers: Life Lessons with Paterno and Krzyzewski" so unique.  It was an event that you truly may never see again.

In addition to Paterno and Krzyzewski, former Penn State athletes Matt Millen and Michael Robinson, along with Duke's Jay Bilas and Jay Williams, spent time on stage answering questions about the two coaches.

The two coaches seemed to thoroughly enjoy their time together on stage.  After several years in the making, it was a privilege for Penn State to host such a unique event. 

Joe Paterno and Mike Krzyzewski set the standard for coaching success in college sports.  To see the two living legends together was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Follow GoPSUsports.com Media Specialist Tony Mancuso on Twitter @GoPSUTony