Penn State graduate Warren Armstrong wants to honor Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.
Armstrong, Class of 1960, is urging university officials to rename Beaver Stadium to Joe Paterno Field.
The name change would take effect before Paterno retires, ideally when the coach wins his 400th career game, Armstrong said.
The 75-year-old Armstrong, who has missed only 23 Penn State football games since graduating college, lives in Allentown and has served as president of Armstrong Marketing Services since 1972.
For Armstrong, there are a few good reasons why Penn State should consider the change.
"There's millions of dollars he's made for the university," he said.
"There's not too many coaches around that can graduate a large majority of football players and still be top ranked in the country."
Two summers ago, he sent letters to Penn State President Graham Spanier and Athletic Director Tim Curley proposing the name change.
On Oct. 26, 2009, he received a phone response from Curley.
Curley told him not to dismiss the idea but to hold off on plans for an advertising campaign about the name change, Armstrong said.
It would be months until Armstrong would meet Curley in person at his class reunion last summer and Curley said he would put Joe Paterno Field "back on his plate," Armstrong said.
But Penn State spokesman Geoff Rushton said no official plans have been made to honor Paterno yet.
"I think that all possible options will be considered at the appropriate time. I don't know if any plans have been put into motion yet," Rushton said.
Spanier echoed that sentiment via e-mail.
"We have received suggestions throughout the years on the best way to honor Coach Paterno. We appreciate the input and will certainly want to consider all possibilities at the appropriate time," Spanier wrote.
Since his talk with Curley, Armstrong said he has initiated a grassroots campaign, handing out more than 600 flyers to supporters.
Armstrong pointed to stadiums named after Alabama's Paul "Bear" Bryant and Florida State's Bobby Bowden during their respective tenures as coaches as inspirations for his campaign.
Armstrong said he believes Paterno wouldn't mind the change, noting the coach's ambiguous response to a question about the campaign at a press conference following Penn State's away game against Syracuse University in 2009.
