A Joe Paterno statue will be returning to the Happy Valley.
A bronze statue of the late Penn State football coach is planned for installation outside of the Tavern Restaurant in State College, Pa., in November 2015, according to OnwardState.com.
It substitutes for the Paterno statue removed from outside Beaver Stadium two years ago by university president Rodney Erickson in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal that sullied Paterno’s reputation. A university-commissioned report accused the late coach and three administrators of concealing sex abuse claims against the retired assistant coach.
Loyalty to the legacy of the Hall of Fame coach who won two national titles at Penn State still runs deep in some corners.
“There’s been some level of frustration among Penn Staters with what happened with the statue at the stadium,” Ted Sebastianelli, one of the project organizers, told OnwardState.com. “We wanted to come up with a way to honor Joe for all that he did for the State College community. It wasn’t just the university he impacted — it was the whole town.”
Sebastianelli said the inspiration for the statue — which will be called “Reflections” — came from a photo of Paterno sitting on a bench eating ice cream. Plans were originally made to include a statue of Sue Paterno, Joe’s wife, but she was not interested. The Paterno family has no involvement in the planning.
The statue is expected to cost $300,000, and a Kickstarter campaign is slated to be launched in July. In addition, some proceeds from the Paterno tribute film “The People’s Joe” will go toward bankrolling the statue.
“There’s a culture of people in State College that clearly appreciates what Joe has done,” Sebastianelli said. “Our alumni always want to know how we will honor him. This is something we can do for State College while getting Penn Staters from around the country involved. This has nothing to do with university. We are doing this on our own.”