Athletics have the potential to bring in mountains of cash to a university, and Joe Paterno helped create that mountain and move it toward academics. In 1993, Sue and Joe Paterno started a campaign for a new campus library, eventually raising nearly $14 million—with millions of that from their own pockets—for the September 2000 opening of the Paterno Library, which houses a variety of discipline libraries.
Joe Paterno’s Penn State Exit: Six Ways He Infiltrated Campus Culture
Despite his now-damaged reputation, Joe Paterno has dramatically affected Penn State life, from campus buildings to tailgate traditions.