After the Penn State Board of Trustees approved the naming of West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium on Monday, a group of trustees protested the decision, saying it didn’t benefit the university financially to the extent it could and disrespected the legacy of former football coach Joe Paterno.
Eight trustees — Ted Brown, Suzan Collins, Daniel Delligatti, Barry Fenchak, Anthony Lubrano, Matt McGloin, Jay Paterno, and Brandon Short — voted against the measure to name the field at Beaver Stadium. Four of those trustees — McGloin, Jay Paterno, Delligatti, and Short — played for Joe Paterno, while others were close with Joe Paterno and his wife, Sue.
Just over a year prior, Lubrano proposed a measure in front of the full board for the naming of “Paterno Field at Beaver Stadium,” a measure that was retracted after a long statement from Jay Paterno, Joe Paterno’s son. Lubrano was later investigated by the board for his actions before he sued the university and won.
On Monday, Lubrano stuck to that proposal.
“Given the great public interest around the naming of the field at Beaver Stadium, I believe we should pause to explore other possibilities, including Paterno Field at Beaver Stadium,” Lubrano said at the board meeting. “You want to see transformational? We agree to Paterno Field at Beaver Stadium, and we will raise hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Later on Monday, Lubrano doubled down on that statement in an interview with StateCollege.com partner Onward State, noting the naming of Paterno Field at Beaver Stadium would raise at least $250 million for the athletic department.
The West Shore Home Field measure will raise $50 million for Penn State Athletics over the next 15 years, with the plan frontloaded to offload some of the debt Penn State will take on to pay for $700 million Beaver Stadium renovations.
Lubrano’s sentiments were shared by other trustees. At Monday’s meeting, trustee Ted Brown referenced a proposal he previously put forth to honor Joe Paterno, which he said would raise $260 million.
Brown’s proposal called for campaigning on naming Beaver Stadium’s field, declaring a Joe and Sue Paterno Day, and putting together a field naming ceremony on a fall bye weekend for the football program.
The proposal also called for selling tickets to the field naming ceremony for $1,000, though, that number could be adjusted, and campaigning on the university’s willingness to embrace the Paternos, which Penn State has been hesitant to do since Joe Paterno was fired in the wake of the 2011 Sandusky scandal. Brown’s plan of selling those tickets to an at-capacity Beaver Stadium would pay for at least $110 million while campaigning to high-level and grassroots donors would scrape away at the other $100 million-plus total.
“Those people who have stepped away would see a sincere effort on the part of the university to recognize to contributions of Joe Paterno,” Lubrano said. “It’s about time we stood up for the institution that made us and the people we are.”
“We have options that could bring in significantly more revenue that would have allowed us to show respect for our alums and our fans…to show respect for their concerns and their wishes and to build goodwill with all those folks,” trustee Barry Fenchak said. “That goodwill you build up that leads to more revenue moving forward…and of course the opportunity to do the opportunity to do the right thing by Joe and Sue Paterno.”
Fenchak added that by approving Monday’s proposal, Penn State missed out on the opportunity to find better revenue streams, both from a Paterno Field proposal or other means. When Fenchak raised his concerns to the full board, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Pat Kraft said the West Shore Home proposal was what the administration had to offer.
“We chose one that provided less money, and all those other things got kicked to the curb,” Fenchak said. “I don’t think it’s in the best interests of the university.”
Multiple trustees told Onward State they felt Penn State’s administration has expressed hesitation in naming anything after Joe Paterno due to expected negative backlash from folks outside the university. Each of the trustees who spoke with Onward State said that shouldn’t be a concern.
“I may not have the personal knowledge of some with issues that were discussed publically at the meeting, but I feel that we need to prioritize our concerns in carrying out our fiduciary duty toward those who are important to this institution,” Fenchak said. “The people whose concerns we should have at the top of mind as we’re executing our fiduciary duty.”
“The outside isn’t really my concern. My concern is really those within the Penn State community,” Lubrano said.
