Penn State University will unveil the Paterno Family Football Experience Room at Beaver Stadium on September 3, marking the first major effort by the university to honor former head coach Joe Paterno since his firing in 2011.
The exhibit will feature Paterno’s original office desk and workspace, along with other personal artifacts from his decades leading the program in State College, Centre County.
Paterno first arrived on the Penn State campus in 1950 and took over the football program in 1966. His contract was terminated on November 9, 2011, after revelations that university officials had buried child sex abuse allegations against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Paterno died 74 days later, on January 22, 2012, at age 85, due to complications from lung cancer.
The question of how, or whether, to memorialize Paterno has remained contentious in Happy Valley since his statue was removed from outside Beaver Stadium in the wake of the scandal. In 2024, a former trustee proposed naming the field at Beaver Stadium after Paterno but later withdrew the idea. In 2025, the university sold the stadium’s naming rights to Pennsylvania-based company West Shore Home.
Penn State Athletic Director Pat Kraft addressed the new exhibit in a statement.
“Penn State’s Football’s history belongs to generations of student-athletes, coaches, staff and supporters who helped build this program,” Kraft said. “This room gives us an opportunity to preserve that history, present it thoughtfully and create an experience that connects the proud tradition of Penn State Football with its future.”
Reaction on social media has been mixed. One user wrote, “Dude coved up child sex abuse, shame on Penn State,” while another described Paterno as having “one of the most complicated legacies in college football.”
Paterno was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
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