Penn State head coach James Franklin has been vocal about the need to improve the football facilities at Pen State, just as his predecessor Bill O’Brien did in his short stint in Happy Valley. With a recent donation from a notable alum, those plans for upgrades were given a bit of a financial boost.
On Wednesday the school announced alum and longtime donor Paul T. Stecko offered a commitment to donate $1 million to the Football Excellence Fund. In return, Penn State will rename the Lasch Football Building in Stecko’s honor.
“The Stecko family has a long-standing relationship with Penn State athletics and we are thankful that they have made this gift to Penn State football,” Director of Athletics Dr. David Joyner said. “This gift will help give Coach James Franklin the resources to develop outstanding football student-athletes on and off the field.”
“We are very grateful to Paul Stecko and his family for this very generous gift to our football program,” Franklin said. “The support from the Stecko family will provide us with the resources to give our football student-athletes an unrivaled experience here at Penn State.”
It should be noted the Lasch Football Building served as the site of some of the ugly crimes committed by former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. It may have only been a matter of time before the building was renamed anyway, although there is no indication that is a motive for renaming the building. Some upgrades and changes to the football building happened quickly after the revelation of the Sandusky crimes became known, but that is not the only reason Penn State needs to upgrade the football facilities. In a sport where the latest and greatest facilities are always being upgraded, Penn State needs to find a way to keep pace with programs like Ohio State.