This Week in Penn State Sports: Beaver Stadium Is Hopping

Penn State hosts its first weekend of official visits as construction continues at Beaver Stadium.

A rendering of the proposed renovation of Penn State's Beaver Stadium, which is scheduled for completion in 2027. | Courtesy Penn State Athletics

This week in Penn State news, Matt Campbell took a tour of the Beaver Stadium renovation before hosting his first group of weekend official visitors. If everything continues to schedule, those members of the 2027 recruiting will be the first to play in the "revitalized," as Penn State says, stadium in their freshman seasons.

But Penn State has to close the deals first, which is what the first weekend of June is all about. With that in mind, let's catch up on all the Penn State sports news during the most active recruiting period of the year.

It's OV season at Penn State

@BlakeBetton @PennStateFball OV #LBU @TysonVeidt #WeAre pic.twitter.com/VaNwEWxe9Y

— Ray Betton (@CoachBetton44) June 6, 2026

Penn State is on commitment watch this weekend, as more than 20 prospects from the 2027 recruiting class are on campus for the first official-visit weekend of the June period. Penn State did not host visitors for the last weekend of May and will concentrate its recruiting plan into three weeks of camps and visits before the summer dead period begins June 22.

The Nittany Lions primarily are hosting players already committed to their 2027 class, including 3-star Minnesota linebacker Blake Betton, who shared some photos on social media of his time in Beaver Stadium.

But Campbell and his staff also are making their pitches to some key uncommitted prospects, notably a pair of 4-star receivers in Pennsylvania's Khalil Taylor and Alabama's Deshawn Hall. Neither is likely to commit this weekend, but Penn State could get an announcement from Oklahoma linebacker Case Alexander, whose brother Cooper plays tight end for the Nittany Lions.

What is Campbell's pitch this weekend, beyond money? He's selling the program's developmental model, which Campbell used to become the winningest football coach in Iowa State history.

A hard-hat tour of Beaver Stadium

Checking out the new upgrades 🚧 pic.twitter.com/mOFJ9uVOX4

— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) June 2, 2026

Penn State has been pretty quiet lately about the Beaver Stadium renovation progess. Of course, the construction scale is visible for those in State College. But otherwise, we don't know much about what's going in inside Phase II of the $700 million renovation.

This week, though Penn State offered an intriguing glimpse inside Beaver Stadium's new West Tower, which is scheduled to be completed before the 2027 season. Campbell took a site tour with project management to learn that construction on the tower structure will be completed before this season.

Though the interiors won't be finished (and weren't scheduled to be), that appears to suggest the construction timeline is progressing to plan. Penn State also is installing bleacher seats atop the West Tower structure, which will be higher than the former press box that was felled in early 2025. Also of note: Fans who sit on the stadium's East side will enjoy wider concourses this season.

Major changes for Penn State basketball

Penn State Nittany Lions basketball coach Mike Rhoades calls out a play to his team during the game against Rutgers. | Taj Falconer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In Year 4 as the Penn State men's basketball coach, Mike Rhoades is dramatically remaking his roster again. He did so last year with eight freshmen, an experiment that led to a 12-20 record and last-place finish in the Big Ten.

So this year Rhoades sought to build an older roster through the portal. He made that clear in March, saying that the Nittany Lions needed to get "bigger, better and badder and stronger."

So what do the results look like? Basketball writer Will Horstman took a deep dive into Penn State's new roster, which returns just three players. Rhoades did find some compelling talent, notably former Miami (Ohio) shooter Brant Byers and Central Connecticut State point guard Jay Rodgers.

Rhoades also shopped in the overseas market, though there could be issues with that. The NCAA is looking to curb eligibility for players who competed in international professional leagues. Such a decision would impact Penn State.

Good Penn State reads

The Penn State Nittany Lions mascot entertains the crowd during the Blue-White Spring game at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Is the playoff hype real about Penn State? Chase Fisher explores three reasons the Nittany Lions could compete for the College Football Playoff and three reasons they won't.

To make the playoff, teams need at least a few elite players. Here are eight who could fit the bill for Penn State.

The 2026-27 bowl schedule was released this week. Where could Penn State land? Do you like mayonnaise?

We took a first look at Penn State's potential depth charts for the season. The starting offense could feature as many as five former Iowa State Cyclones. And D'Anton Lynn's defense will look completely different.

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