Take a Tour of Penn State's New Paterno Family Football Experience Room

STATE COLLEGE | A wooden door stands inside Beaver Stadium with a plaque that reads “Coach Joe Paterno’s Office.” Behind that door, years of Penn State football history are on display inside a replica of the late Penn State football coach’s office as part of the new Paterno Family Football Experience Room.

The exhibit, located inside the All-Sports Museum, opened to the public Thursday, two days before the Nittany Lions’ 2026 season opener against Marshall. It marks the university’s most significant tribute to Paterno since he was fired in 2011 after winning 409 games in 46 years as Penn State’s head coach.

Paterno’s replica office includes the furniture and memorabilia that were part of his office at the Lasch Football Building. The display is part of a larger new exhibit meant to recognize the history of Penn State football, which enters its 140th season. Matt Campbell has made commemorating that history central to his role as Penn State’s new head football coach.

“The superpower of Penn State — it's who's come before us, what they've done to allow us to have a platform to play in front of this unbelievable crowd and this unbelievable fan base,” Campbell said. “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.”

A look inside Joe Paterno’s office

Former Penn State coach Joe Paterno's office is recreated in the Paterno Family Football Experience Room at Beaver Stadium. | Will Horstman | Penn State on SI

Paterno’s desk sits in the corner of the exhibit with his chair, couches, a lounge chair and more in the room as well. Two of Paterno’s long-time staffers, Brad “Spider” Caldwell and Tommy Venturino, packed up the furniture and stored it for more than a decade. Even the wooden door is an authentic piece of history, as it was the entrance to Paterno’s office at Lasch.

On the desk, items displayed include Paterno’s original stationary, a film projector and a lamp that recognizes the 1982 national championship season. “The Year of the Lion” is printed on the lamp.

The coffee table features a few Penn State-themed magazines and booklets, including a playbook from the 2011 season that sat on Paterno’s desk during his last day as head coach. A Paterno-themed Wheaties box and a limited-edition Coke bottle commemorating Penn State’s championships are in the office as well. .

On the wall, there’s a painting of Adam Taliaferro, the former Penn State football player who sustained a career-ending spinal injury in 2000. The injury initially left him paralyzed, but after spinal fusion surgery and months of rehab, Taliaferro led Penn State onto the field for Penn State’s opener on Sept. 1, 2001, a scene the painting captures.

Next to the painting of Taliaferro, there are five plaques for each of Paterno’s AFCA Coach of the Year awards. Family pictures ring the exhibit as well.

A painting of former Penn State football player Adam Taliaferro hangs on the wall of the Paterno Family Football Experience. | Will Horstman | Penn State on SI

A glass display case showcases iconic Paterno keepsakes, including his black Nike shoes. There’s a copy of the Centre Daily Times from his 400th career win, a 35-21 comeback victory over Northwestern in 2010, and the jacket he wore during the game.

Next to his office is an interactive screen that lets viewers follow Paterno’s path to 409 wins, an NCAA record. Additionally, a timeline adjacent to the office describes Paterno’s time more than 60 years with Penn State.

Does Penn State address the Jerry Sandusky scandal in the exhibit?

The entrance to the new Paterno Family Football Experience Room at the Penn State All-Sports Museum at Beaver Stadium. | Will Horstman | Penn State on SI

There is no direct mention in the exhibit of the scandal involving former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who was charged with child sexual abuse in 2011, which led Penn State’s Board of Trustees to fire Paterno in November of that year.

In 2012, Penn State removed the Paterno statue that stood near Beaver Stadium. The statue also is not part of the exhibit. In 2012, then-Penn State President Rodney Erickson said that the statue would be stored "in a secure location."

The only direct mention of Sandusky appears on an interactive screen that lists all former and current Penn State assistant coaches and the years they were on staff. Sandusky was on Paterno’s staff from 1969-99.

That video screen also features an interactive list of Penn State’s all-time head football coaches, with indirect references to the scandal in the biographies of Tom Bradley and Bill O’Brien. Bradley, a longtime Penn State assistant, was the program's interim head coach in 2011 after Paterno was fired. His bio states that Bradley “stepped forward to lead Penn State during one of the most difficult transitions in program history.”

O’Brien’s bio notes that he “guided Penn State through an unprecedented transition” as the head coach in 2012-13.

More historical scenes inside exhibit

The 1973 Heisman Trophy won by Penn State's John Cappelletti on display at the Paterno Family Football Experience Room. | Will Horstman | Penn State on SI

Aside from Paterno’s replica office, the exhibit tells the story of Penn State football. Notably, a wall features multiple trophies the Nittany Lions have won, including the 1986 national championship trophy and the 1983 Sugar Bowl trophy, which was the de facto 1982 national championship.

John Cappelletti’s 1973 Heisman Trophy is on display. There are more recent honors as well, such as Tyler Warren’s 2024 Mackey Award. Penn State also honors its team captains with a wall of plaques for every year since 1887, the program’s first season.

The past and the present are tied together with an interactive screen that introduces Campbell to viewers, and there’s also a gameday countdown to the season-opener against Marshall at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

After its opening Thursday, the Paterno Family Football Experience Room will be available to the public again from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and from 10 a.m.-noon before the Penn State-Marshall game. The Penn State All-Sports Museum also will be open from 10-4 Sunday after the game.

Penn State's 1986 national championship trophy on display in the Paterno Family Football Experience Room at Beaver Stadium. | Will Horstman | Penn State on SI

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