Recent News
News Archive
COACH JOE PATERNO (January 22nd, 2012)
It is with great sadness that the thousands of participants and loyal devotees of Paternoville receive the news of the passing of Coach Joseph Vincent Paterno.
Our deepest sympathies go out to Mrs. Sue Paterno and the generations of the Paterno family. Also in our hearts are the players and coaches, past and present, who have had the opportunity to learn from Coach Paterno.
We are proud to continue to represent the Paterno name with pride and respect this coming football season as we continue call our encampment outside Beaver Stadium "Paternoville." We recently announced our commitment to the "Paternoville" name and we are happy and that Coach Paterno himself was aware that we would be continuing this great tradition.
"Penn State would not be the special place that it is without the contributions of Joe Paterno. I am honored to have been associated with the Paterno name as President of Paternoville, and my heart is with the Paterno family at this time." - Paternoville Coordination Committee President John Tecce
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The Paternoville Coordination Committee (PCC) is an officially-recognized student organization of the Pennsylvania State University.
Any media inquiries should go to Paternoville Coordination Committee President John Tecce. He can be reached via phone at (484) 364-1854 or via e-mail at Johntecce@gmail.com.
WELCOME TO COACH O'BRIEN (January 7th, 2012)
We thank the outgoing staff members for their many contributions to Penn State football and Penn State University. Their dedication is not forgotten. We also warmly welcome Coach O'Brien to Penn State and look forward to seeing the Penn State football tradition progress under his leadership.
There are no plans to change the name of Paternoville at this time. We look forward to continuing the unique and cherished tradition of camping out in support of the student-athletes and coaches when they take the field each home football Saturday.
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The Paternoville Coordination Committee (PCC) is an officially-recognized student organization of the Pennsylvania State University.
Any media inquiries should go to Paternoville Coordination Committee President John Tecce. He can be reached via phone at (484) 364-1854 or via e-mail at Johntecce@gmail.com.
THANKS FROM THE PRESIDENT (November 15th, 2011)
To my fellow campers,
It's hard for me to believe that, after twenty-nine campouts over the course of four years, I am finally saying goodbye to what I consider the most rewarding and memorable experience from my time at Penn State. I will miss the days spent at Gate A playing trashcan football, the nights spent rallying together with a drum line, and, of course, the copious amounts of free food I ate.
I want to acknowledge how much I appreciate the hard work and dedication put in by all of the PCC officers, including Michael Higgins, Troy Weller, Jeff Lowe, Christopher Grassi, Corbin Bird, Carolyn Lasky, Allen Sheffield, Amanda Spitko, and Troy Stram. To the various others who contributed to making Paternoville run smoothly this past season, I cannot express how grateful I am of your efforts.
I want to thank Penn State Athletics, in particular Greg Myford, Mark Bodenschatz, Joel Diamond, and Jeff Fisher, for being instrumental in making Paternoville a safe and fun tradition for all Penn State students. Thank you to my predecessors, Tom Boroch and Alex Cohen, who taught me what it means to be responsible for such a unique and proud tradition. I sincerely thank Paternoville's Faculty Advisor, Mike Poorman, for your constant support and valuable input. Finally, I'd like to thank my parents, who have always supported me and everything I do, even if it involves countless hours sitting outside of Beaver Stadium waiting in line for a football game.
To every camper, past or present, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being part of making my Paternoville experience unforgettable. In particular, I want to thank all 700+ of you who represented Penn State with pride and respect during the Nebraska campout this past week. I cannot express to all of you how proud I am of what I saw all week at Gate A. Paternoville remained a strong and positive presence at a time when Penn State needed it most, and I expect that to continue moving forward.
I will miss being in charge of all you hooligans at Gate A, and I hope that my contributions have improved Paternoville. As I move on from my position, I am confident in the future of Paternoville, one of Penn State's most unique and proud traditions. I am confident in the future of Penn State Football, which I will always support through good days and bad. Lastly, I am confident in the future of the Pennsylvania State University.
We Are Penn State & We Are In Tents.
-John Tecce
PATERNOVILLE STATEMENT (November 11th, 2011)
A STATEMENT FROM THE STUDENTS OF PATERNOVILLE
The hearts of every Penn State student, past and present, who has ever camped at Paternoville, go out to those who have been victimized and their families. We will continue to wear blue ribbons in support of child abuse prevention this week.
Penn State students began camping out for home football games in 1993 to be the first to enter Beaver Stadium on football game day. In 2005, in honor of the team's coach, Joe Paterno, the encampment was given the name "Paternoville" by the students who spent the week in tents lined up outside of the stadium.
Since then, more than 10,000 students as well as hundreds and hundreds of fans, alumni, Nittany Lion football players and Coach Paterno himself have been a part of the camping experience. In addition, we have enjoyed very positive support from Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics.
At this time, we want to acknowledge everything that our namesake has meant to and done for Penn State University and Penn State Football for over 61 years. Thanks, Coach Paterno. For us, it has been a privilege to have a front row seat to some of the greatest games and memories in Penn State football history.
Through the final game of the 2011 football season, we plan to maintain the Paternoville name. As of this time, there are no plans to change the name. Events are happening swiftly throughout the Penn State community and our focus is on cheering on our fellow students -- the Penn State football players, especially the graduating seniors -- against Nebraska tomorrow in Beaver Stadium.
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The Paternoville Coordination Committee (PCC) is an officially-recognized student organization of the Pennsylvania State University.
Any media inquiries should go to Paternoville Coordination Committee President John Tecce. He can be reached via phone at (484) 364-1854 or via e-mail at Johntecce@gmail.com.
IMPORTANT BAMA INFO (September 3rd, 2011)
Well, the first camp out of the 2011 season is in the books and Penn State came away with an impressive blowout win of D-IAA Indiana State.
But, we all know the real reason that anyone is reading this right now. With the ISU game in the books, that means it is BAMA WEEK. Yes, finally, after all these years, we finally get the home game against Alabama. To prepare for what we all hope we be an epic camp out, the PCC has some important announcements. Please visit our Facebook Fan page here to read about the special procedures for this week's camp out.
We appreciate your cooperation in all that we do this week. Thank you.
NEW FAQ SECTION (June 2nd, 2011)
We have added a new FAQ section to the website. Especially for those who have not yet done Paternoville, this new section will answer questions that the PCC is asked often. Please check back as more questions and answers are added. They cover everything from how to start doing Paternoville to what you should do if you face particular problems at Paternoville.
THANKS FROM THE PRESIDENT (November 30th, 2010)
With the regular season concluding this past weekend, Penn State Football graduates another senior class of players as well as fans. We seniors have seen our fair share of moments over these past four years: the first Whitehouse against Notre Dame in 2007, our Big Ten Championship in 2008, an exciting Capital One Bowl victory last season, and finally Joe Paterno eclipsing the 400 win mark just a few weeks ago. I grew up in a Penn State family and when I had the chance to come here as a student, I wanted to be as close to the team as possible in terms of having an impact. Only a lucky few are able to put on the signature jerseys and white helmets of this program, but I was given the opportunity to have an impact on the program in a different way.
For the past two years I have served as President of Paternoville. In my four years as a student here and along with my fellow seniors, we have compiled a home record of 24 wins and just 5 losses. Twenty-nine different weeks I had the privilege of camping outside Gate A. I have met some amazing people while being involved in Paternoville including most of my best friends. Paternoville and this football program have given me so many memories over the years and I just want to say thank you.
I want to thank all of the athletic department officials for their assistance with Paternoville. I want to thank all of the Paternoville officers for their hard work and commitment in the endeavors we undertook. I want to thank my predecessor as Paternoville President, Tom Boroch, without whom Paternoville would not exist. I want to thank the team for providing my fellow seniors and myself with so many memories over these past 4 years. Finally, I want to thank the student body and in particular those who camped at Paternoville these past four years. Together we made the southeast corner of Beaver Stadium, the best place to watch and experience college football in the country.
Unfortunately, we only get a short amount of time to experience Penn State Football as a student. Four years sounds like a lot but it goes by faster than we all expect. I am sad to say goodbye to Paternoville and the Student Section but I am excited to begin my next chapter as a Penn State Football fan in the Alumni section. I may be entering Penn State Football games through a different gate from now on but I will always remember the time spent outside Gate A. Thank you for everything.
For The Glory,
Alex Cohen
Paternoville President
MICHIGAN WEEK '10 (October 24th, 2010)
Camping registration for the 2010 Michigan game will begin on Monday, October 25th at 6 pm on ANGEL. Please see the PCC Rules & Regulations page for details on the new online registration system if you have not used it previously. Being at Gate A before 6 pm will not affect your place in line.
PLEASE BE AWARE that, unlike normal, you only have 30 minutes to get to Gate A after you have registered online. When you arrive, PCC officers will call groups up to have a section assigned by calling the group leaders' name/submitted contact number in the order in which groups registered. Please have your camping equipment (tents, tarps, etc.) with you at this time. Tents will go up at midnight (12:00 am on Tuesday the 26th).
Also, registration for the inaugural Paternoville Trashcan Football Tournament (supported by Nike and Penn State Athletics) will begin Monday night. The cost will be $20/team (team of two) and all proceeds will benefit Lift For Life. Please have the registration fee on you when you register Monday night. All participants will receive a Paternoville Trashcan Football t-shirt. Check Monday's Daily Collegian for more details. Contact John Tecce (jrt229@psu.edu) with questions. The rules for the tournament can be found here in .doc format.
The tournament will be held Wednesday night the 27th at 6:30pm.
Any questions can be directed to our officers. You can find their contact information here. Make sure to also follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates.
P-VILLE SHIRTS (October 7th, 2010)
In case you had not heard, Paternoville now has official shirts! All proceeds go the student athlete operated charity "Lift for Life" (Uplifting Athletes) and Paternoville Homecoming.
Click here to see the mass-market P-ville shirt, available online from the PSU Bookstore. There is also a shirt only available to whose who camp out. Please see a Paternoville officer at P-ville to obtain a voucher, which can be used at the PSU Bookstore to purchase a shirt. Both shirts cost $20 apiece, and, again, all proceeds go to Lift for Life and Paternoville Homecoming.
Whether you're a current or former camper or just a PSU fan, please support the great charity Lift for Life and Paternoville Homecoming by purchasing an official Paternoville t-shirt!
MEETING RECAP (August 31st, 2010)
Thank you to everyone who came to the first meeting of the 2010-11 season last night, and special thanks to everyone who participated in the test event on ANGEL for the short-list sign-in. The Webmaster greatly appreciates your help (and talks in the third person, since he's writing this).
For those of you who missed the meeting, you may view the PowerPoint presentation presented last night by clicking here. If anything is unclear from this presentation, do not hesitate to contact one of the officers via e-mail, Facebook, semaphore, smoke signals, or tin cans linked by string to seek clarification and have your questions answered.
The PCC looks forward to seeing old campers and welcoming new ones. In just over 24 hours, the 2010 camping season will commence. Get ready for another great season!
FIRST MEETING (August 26th, 2010)
The first meeting of the 2010-11 academic year will take place in 105 Forum Building at 7:00 pm on Monday, August 30th, 2010. Please come to the meeting to hear about the changes to Paternoville for this year as well as view a demonstration of the new sign-in system.
SIGN-IN CHANGES (August 23rd, 2010)
Welcome to the 2010-2011 academic year, folks. You know what that means... f. o. o. t. b. a. l. l.
And, of course, with football, comes the return of Paternoville for another year! As with other years, of course, changes have been made in the off-season. The most noticeable and biggest change is to the Gate A area itself. If you haven't gone by yet, you might want to take drive or walk by and look. It's drastically different than previous years.
However, the change that has the most impact is undoubtedly the new sign-in system. This system will be discussed in far more depth at the Paternoville Coordination Committee's pre-season meeting, to be held Monday, August 30th at a time and place to be determined. The PCC will announce the meeting time and place via its Twitter and Facebook Fan Page accounts in addition to this website. However, you can get a sneak-peak of sorts and get some of your work (yes, YOUR work) out of the way right now.
Amongst the problems in the past at Paternoville has been the arrival of campers at hours ever further from the legitimate start time of Thursday at 12:01 am on a normal camping week. To combat this, the PCC has developed a new online sign-in system that makes it absolutely, 110% useless to be at Gate A any earlier than about 10-11 pm on Wednesday, just an hour or two before Thursday at 12:01 am. Again, this system will be fully explained at the Paternoville preseason meeting, and you can check out our Rules and Regulations page for a brief description of the new system as well as what YOU, as campers, must do to prepare for the new system.
The PCC thanks you for your cooperation in the implementation of this new system, improving the lives of everyone who works hard for Paternoville, from school administration to the PCC to, most importantly, you the campers yourselves.
Keep an eye on the Paternoville Twitter and the Paternoville Facebook Fan Page in addition to this website for more details over the next ten days as we prepare for the 2010 Paternoville camping season!