In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal that rocked Penn State and ended Joe Paterno’s legendary tenure in Happy Valley, Penn State spent much of the last decade and a half distancing itself from the man who was its most iconic figure.
However, the end of the James Franklin era and Matt Campbell’s arrival have come with a willingness to re-embrace the Paterno name, most notably and controversially with the “Paterno Family Football Experience” inside Beaver Stadium. However, while there is no longer a statue outside, this offseason’s renovations also allowed the school to give a nod to college football’s winningest head coach with a not-so-hidden easter egg in the upper levels.
As Penn State beat reporter Audrey Snyder highlighted on Saturday, ahead of Penn State’s Week 1 season opener against Marshall, the sign for section 409 in the new upper west portion of Beaver Stadium has inverted colors, calling attention to Paterno’s career win total.
One of these signs does not look like the other in the new upper west. Presumably a nod to Joe Paterno’s career win total in Beaver Stadium pic.twitter.com/VHDtGrQmtI
— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) September 5, 2026
Penn State reembracing Joe Paterno may not go over well across college football
Joe Paterno is almost always a touchy subject to bring up, but Penn State keeps calling attention to the man who built its football program into a powerhouse before leaving it in disgrace in 2011.
As part of the sanctions from the Sandusky scandal, the NCAA stripped Paterno of 112 wins, removing him as the official winningest head coach in college football history. However, in 2015, those wins were reinstated, restoring Paterno’s record of 409 wins, leaving him 52 wins clear of Bobby Bowden. He is currently 196 wins clear of Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, who is the winningest active head coach.
This type of subtle nod, changing the color of section 409, won’t draw as much attention as the “Paterno Family Football Experience” did, reigniting debate over Paterno’s place in Penn State history and how he should be regarded in the sport as a whole. It’s also probably a better route for the school to go than taking such overt steps to reaffirm the association of the program and the man who led it from 1966 until 2011.
However, it seems Campbell is set on embracing tradition as the head coach of the Nittany Lions, and so far, it’s been received well by former players, with a record number of former Penn State lettermen expected to attend in Week 1 for his first game at Beaver Stadium.
There’s no need to relitigate whether there should be a Paterno statue outside the stadium, though there will almost always be a certain sect of the fanbase ready to have that discussion at any given moment.
Matt Campbell needs to walk a fine line with his return to tradition
For the most part, Penn State took the right steps to rebrand the program under Franklin, and as horrible as the crimes of Sandusky were, enough time has passed for there to be some space for there to be positive remembrances of Paterno, but they should be more tactful, like the Section 409 placard, and less overt, like the Paterno Family Football Experience.
Hopefully, Campbell, as the new leader of the program, understands where that line is, because even if Paterno’s name evokes years of pleasant memories for Penn State fans, for most people outside of the program, it leaves an uneasy feeling in their gut, and understandably so.
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