Penn State’s newest permanent exhibit at the All-Sports Museum opened Thursday morning inside Beaver Stadium, putting a fresh spotlight on Joe Paterno with a display built around artifacts from his coaching life.
The exhibit includes pieces pulled from Paterno’s office, among them his desk, several national Coach of the Year Awards, a Wheaties box bearing his image, old magazines featuring Penn State and Paterno, and a painting of letterman Adam Taliaferro. A long timeline traces Paterno’s career as well.
Not included in that timeline were the child sexual abuse charges against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky or the scrutiny over Paterno’s response to it, the episode that brought his coaching tenure to an end.
Paterno was fired by the board of trustees on Nov. 9, 2011, after 44 years as coach, an FBS-best 409 wins and two national titles.
The exhibit also leaves out the statue of Paterno that once stood outside Beaver Stadium before it was removed on July 22, 2012, six months after he died at 85.
Penn State announced the exhibit publicly on Sept. 1.
Asked Wednesday about the renewed attention on Paterno, new Penn State coach Matt Campbell pointed to the program’s past and called it a “super power.”
“What makes Penn State special is the history of this place,” Campbell told the media Wednesday ahead of his team’s season opener against Marshall. “There are so many key figures from coaches and players that have made up the last 100 plus years of Penn State football.
To me, coming in here, it was about understanding that the history is the superpower of Penn State. It’s who’s come before us and what they’ve done to allow us to have a platform to play in front of this unbelievable crowd and this unbelievable fan base.”
“Those are the people - their blood, their sweat, their tears, their time, their effort. They built this opportunity for us to be able to grow forward,” Campbell said Wednesday. “So I think from my end of it, it means the world to me to understand our history, to understand our past, and to make sure our young men in our program understand the history and past of Penn State.”
In Other News...
Penn State Just Lost An Important Young Defender At A Bad Time
Penn States defense took a hit at an inconvenient moment when LaVar Arrington II went down with a knee injury that will require a procedure, a development confirmed by his father on Fox Sports Radio. The sophomore defensive end had been carving out a role for himself through special teams work, and the coaching staff had pointed to his effort and explosiveness as part of what made him an intriguing young piece on the roster.
Matt Campbell has not offered details on the injury or how long Arrington might be out, leaving the Nittany Lions with one more uncertainty as they sort through their depth. For a player still trying to build momentum in his second season, the timing is especially rough, and it now leaves Penn State waiting to see how the rotation and special teams plans hold up without him. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Reopens A Painful Joe Paterno Debate
Penn States decision to expand its All-Sports Museum inside Beaver Stadium is already stirring familiar emotions around the program. The new Paterno Family Football Experience Room will include an exhibit on Joe Paterno, and athletic director Pat Kraft said the space is meant to preserve and present the history of Penn State football, a history that still carries enormous weight for the school and its supporters.
Even so, the announcement has reopened a painful debate that never quite fades on this campus. For some fans, any new nod to Paterno inevitably brings back the universitys ties to the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal, making the move feel less like a museum addition and more like a test of how Penn State chooses to frame its past. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State May Be Headed For A Middleweight Shakeup
FloWrestlings latest rankings hint that Penn States middleweights could be in for a notable shuffle, with Mitchell Mesenbrink now listed as the No. 1 pound-for-pound wrestler at 174 pounds. That placement points to a possible move up from the weight class he had previously occupied at 165, and it would ripple through the lineup in a hurry, reshaping how the Nittany Lions might sort out some of their most important slots.
If Mesenbrink settles at 174, the dominoes could send Tyler Kasak to 157 and PJ Duke to 165, according to the rankings. There is also the separate possibility of Levi Haines re-entering the picture at 174 if he secures a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, leaving Penn State with a middleweight picture that is still very much in flux as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]