About the Paternoville Coordination Committee
The Paternoville Coordination Committee was formed in 2006 by Jordan Cascino, a then-sophomore who camped out at Paternoville regularly. He formed the PCC, as it is known for short, in response to Penn State University's unilateral decision to restrict camping.
Founder of the PCC, Jordan Cascino.
Jordan felt that a student voice had to be brought to the University in order to protect the tradition of camping out for home football games. In November of 2006, the first meeting was held. Many issues were discussed and plans for an official organization were formed. A week later, several students met with the University to discuss the restrictions.
Since then, the Univesity and the PCC have met in several meetings and much has been accomplished. The PCC has increased in membership and, in April of 2007, new officers were elected.
Second PCC President, Tom Boroch.
Under the leadership of the second PCC President, Tom Boroch, the PCC continued to meet and negotiate with Penn State University on various issues related to Paternoville. President Boroch continued to cultivate relationships with Athletic Department officials, giving the PCC broad-ranging connections.
President Boroch's first major institution came with birth of the official Paternoville list. Previously students planted tents and lined up on gameday based on where they thought they should be. The PCC now maintains a list beginning when the first campers show up, assigning sections and places in line, and then on gameday makes sure each group goes to the right place.
In the summer of 2008, the PCC was given a major task. Penn State's Athletic Department informed the PCC in a pre-season meeting that new crowd-control devices would be used to protect students from the crush of the crowd when gates opened. These devices would greatly change Paternoville's operation given their placement. President Boroch developed, on very short notice, and without time to test, a workable procedure to allow stadium operations workers to set up the barricades without Paternoville getting in the way. President Boroch instituted a wrist-band system to allow campers to return their gear to their residences on gameday without losing a place in line. The system worked itself out during the course of the 2008-2009 season and received positive reviews.
Third PCC President, Alex Cohen.
In April of 2009 new leaders were selected as President Boroch stepped down and Vice President Chris Grassi graduated. Paternoville's new President, Alex Cohen camped for every game since the 2007 Season, and during his first two seasons as a resident of Paternoville, he assisted PCC leadership in running Paternoville. Paternovillers might be more familiar with Alex and his gameday speechs and enormous enthusiasm for Penn State. President Cohen developed strong relationships with the Athletic Department in his first two years through a marketing position with Penn State baseball and another athletic club, Nittany Nation; this ensured that even with complete new leadership the PCC would retain excellent relationships with Athletics officials.
The two top officers were reelected for the 2010 season. While the season may have been a disappointment on the field, the season at Paternoville saw participation numbers reach new heights, with more than 1,700 different students camping out for various games. The PCC also debuted a new electronic sign-in system that eliminated many past problems related to campers arriving at Gate A before scheduled start times. The new system, designed by Webmaster Chris Grassi, forced all groups to play by the established rules in arriving at Gate A to begin camping out. Finally, the PCC took a Paternoville tradition to the next level. PCC Vice President John Tecce, in conjunction with other organizations and sponsorship from Nike, organized the first ever Trashcan Football Tournament in October of 2010. The tournament was a huge success.
Fourth PCC President, John Tecce.
With the graduation of President Alex Cohen, Paternoville took to the polls again to elect a new leader. John Tecce was elected the fourth PCC President during the Spring 2011 semester. Michael Higgins was elected to the Vice President's office. With an incredible home slate of games for the 2011 season, President John Tecce hopes to reinvigorate Paternoville's atmosphere. Using his experience as a marketing intern for Penn State basketball and baseball, President Tecce intends to introduce several new events for the year at Paternoville, while bringing back the Trashcan Football Tournament for a second year. The coming year is looking to be a smashing success when combining the incredible home schedule and ambitious goals of the new PCC leadership.