The Penn State Board of Trustees met on Monday and voted to accept a major donation for the naming rights of the field at Beaver Stadium. In a 22-8 vote, the Board approved accepting a $50 million gift from West Shore Home and CEO B.J. Werzyn, a 1999 Penn State graduate, for 15-year naming rights to the field.
The name, beginning this year, will be West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium. The donation will be the second-largest cash gift in Penn State history, and is set to contribute significantly to the $700 million revitalization project of Beaver Stadium. With the gift, Penn State has achieved 97.5% of the $134 million philanthropic goal for the project set last May.
Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft said there will be annual payments by Werzyn and West Shore Home, although the deal will be “front loaded” to support the stadium’s renovation, which is expected to be completed prior to the 2027 season.
“This is a really important factor and an important play in our financing of the revitalization,” Kraft said. “$10 million will be paid over the next 10 years, while the remaining $40 (million) will be paid over the next 15.”
Werzyn, a native of Johnstown, founded West Shore Home, a home remodeling company, in 2006. West Shore Home’s headquarters are based in Mechanicsburg, and the company maintains around 3,000 employees and has grown to 21 states and 40 locations.
“West Shore is proud to be founded and based in Pennsylvania and this partnership with Penn State is an exciting opportunity for our company,” Werzyn said in a statement “West Shore Home sets the standard for excellence in home remodeling and Penn State sets the standard for excellence in academics and athletics. It’s a great relationship.”
How the naming will be represented in the stadium is still to be determined, but Kraft said he envisioned word marks on the 20-yard lines.
Anthony Lubrano, who was a part of a group that proposed to name the field after Joe and Sue Paterno on Feb. 16, 2024, was vocally opposed to the motion, speaking multiple times throughout the meetings of the Finance and Investment Committee and the full board.
“This is a very sad and sobering day in the history of Penn State,” Lubrano said. “Today, for many of us, the music dies. Today, the Penn State we know and love is no more, because today we’re about to commit the ultimate betrayal.”
The board, Lubrano said, was “about to turn our backs on” Joe and Sue Paterno and “for a few silver pieces, we’re about to sell our soul.” He also said that Kraft and university President Neeli Bendapudi called Sue Paterno last week to inform her of the naming proposal and when asked what plans they had to honor Joe Paterno was told his office would be recreated in the All-Sports Museum. She told the administrators, “that’s just not sufficient,” according to Lubrano.
Lubrano, along with trustees Ted Brown and Barry Fenchak, said that substantially more money could have been raised through a campaign to name the field Paterno Field.
Brown, Fenchak, Lubrano, Daniel Delligatti, Suzan Collins, Matt McGloin, Brandon Short and Paterno’s son, Jay Paterno, voted no on accepting the deal.
“There is a great amount of us that still carry on Joe’s legacy and will continue to do so,” said McGloin, a quarterback for Penn State during Paterno’s final three seasons. “But by not giving him the honor he deserves you’re trying to eliminate the past and everything he stood for, every player that played for him, every player that walked through that tunnel, every player who graduated every player who may not have made it, every players whose life may not have been changed for the better.
“You’re trying to erase 46 years as a head coach. What’s happening now may look like a successful move but I don’t believe it’s a very honorable and success without honor is an unseasoned dish. It will satisfy your hunger but it won’t taste very good. I’m urging you to do the right thing for Penn State, to do the right thing for the Paterno family, to do the right thing for Joe. There shouldn’t be a price for our identity here at Penn State.
Asked if any other naming possibilities had been considered, Kraft said, “This is the option we have in front of us. There’s a bunch of things you could do. This is in front of us.” He explained earlier that no other potential donor had gone through the vetting process because “none that we have met with have met the threshold of the [Facilities and Academic Unit Naming Committee].”
Several trustees who voted in favor of the naming said they also want to find a way to honor the Paternos.
“i”I think it’s really unfortunate that we’re making this a referendum on how we feel about Joe Paterno and the Paterno family,” trustee Naren Gursahaney said. “I know I speak on behalf of most of my peers, if not all of my peers, on the board that we all have tremendous respect for the family and appreciation for all of their contributions to this university, and I do believe and i’m committed to finding the way to recognize him in an appropriate manner.”
“We need this $50 million, but we also absolutely need to honor the legacy of the most impactful individual in the history of Penn State,” added trustee Donald Cairns. “And I’d like us all to commit to each other that we’re gonna be diligent about doing that in a very meaningful way.”
The board approved an initial $70 million for the Beaver Stadium renovation in 2023 and authorized up to $630 million more in May (with two members voting no and three abstaining). Penn State officials said no tuition or tax dollars will be used, and the project will be financed by university-backed debt to be paid by the athletic department, along with donations.
The project has received at least $70 million in major donations, according to releases from the athletic department. They include several that will result in the naming of a west sideline club, a field club, a welcome center and the west tower in recognition of their respective donors.
“This gift from the Werzyn family and West Shore Home is a testament to their incredible generosity and unwavering commitment to Penn State,” Bendapudi said in a statement. “Their support is meaningful in driving the Beaver Stadium Revitalization project forward and I’m also thrilled at the ongoing discussions on developing a new partnership that will provide hands-on experiences for our students in the College of Information Sciences and Technology.”
Geoff Rushton contributed to this report.
