CHICAGO — Joe Paterno made his first public appearance of the summer, and, despite acknowledging the concern about his health, he reiterated he is just fine.

Paterno spoke for 15 minutes at Big Ten media day before answering questions from Penn State reporters after his time on the dais and said his health has not impacted his preparation for the season.

This summer Paterno missed three alumni speaking events because of the intestinal flu and an adverse reaction to antibiotic treatment. He wasn’t sick, he said. He just had trouble controlling his bowels.

“It was a little bit below the intestines,” said Paterno, whose response to the question about his health drew laughs from the room of reporters.

He said his lack of travel hasn’t affected recruiting, and he hopes to be on the sidelines this fall.

Aside from his health, Paterno addressed Big Ten expansion, reiterating he would like the conference to continue east, but noted it was strictly for “selfish” reasons.

In terms of Nebraska, Paterno said he is excited at the opportunity of meeting a national power, but he hasn’t put much thought into whether or not he’d like the Cornhuskers in the same division. He hasn’t put thought into how to realign the conference either.

For more from the Big Ten Football Kickoff here, check the Footblog and tomorrow’s paper.