As win number 400 draws near for legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno, the grassroots effort to rename Beaver Stadium in the coach's honor is picking up steam.

According to The Daily Collegian, PSU alum Warren Armstrong began the campaign to rename the stadium last year. Since then, he has handed out flyers, penned letters to the PSU administration and discussed the matter with Nittany Lions Athletic Director Tim Curley.

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.

Armstrong insists that Paterno's contribution to the university warrants the honor.

"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."

Beaver Stadium is named for former Pennsylvania Governor Gen. James Beaver, who was twice elected as justice of the Pennsylvania Superior Court and later served as President of the university's Board of Trustees in the early 20th century. General Beaver is perhaps best known for his service in the Union army during the Civil War, where he attained the rank of General. Beaver was wounded during multiple battles, eventually losing his leg, but continued to return to service despite his injuries. As President of the university's Board of Trustees, Beaver was instrumental in obtaining funds to improve the Penn State football facilities. The stadium, Beaver Hall, and Beaver Avenue are named in his honor.

I don't have a dog in the fight, so I'm not one to say whether the stadium should be named for Beaver or Paterno.

I suppose the most reasonable solution might be the one employed by several schools - naming the field in Paterno's honor while keeping the stadium name intact. After all, JoPa won a lot of games in Beaver Stadium and no one has ever owned that field the way he has.

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