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with seats looking directly down and the closeness of everybody to the action – it reminds me of the Hershey arena," Joyner said. Terry Pegula and his wife, Kim, originally donated $88 million for the arena in 2010 and have since raised their support to $102 mil- lion. Pegula, who owns the NHL's Buffalo Sabers, said he "wanted [the arena] to sound like you're inside a garbage can when the competition comes in there." Work began at the site of the arena earlier this year, and for weeks the crater alongside Holuba Hall has been growing deeper and wider. But that didn't prevent a list of Penn State VIPs from turning over shovelfuls of ceremonial topsoil on the day of the groundbreaking. They included the Pegulas, Gadowsky, university president Rodney Erickson, women's ice hockey coach Josh Brandwene, board of trustees chair Karen Peetz and Joe Battista, the university's associate athletic director for hock- ey development. Wearing hockey helmets and bear- ing shovels that were specially designed to resemble hockey sticks, the dignitaries scooped up topsoil from a box at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex, symbolizing the groundbreaking. Said Joyner, "Beyond the physical space and state-of-the -art ameni- ties, the Pegulas' gift will create something even bigger: a new begin- ning for hockey at Penn State and across the country." While the Nittany Lions haven't played a game yet in the new arena, the university is already looking at staging an outdoor game in Beaver Stadium. Battista said talks have begun, but he added that Penn State is still "about five years" from playing a hockey game at the stadi- um. Battista said many people have requested a Pittsburgh Penguins- Philadelphia Flyers matchup. There's a precedent for playing an NHL game at a college venue, as the Detroit Red Wings are set to face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2013 Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. But Battista said he would rather see Penn State play a high-caliber colle- giate opponent like Notre Dame, Ohio State or Boston College in the school's first outdoor game. "It will happen," Battista said, "but we want to get the programs going and really build the program first." FOOTBALL WR Smith charged with possession Receiver Devon Smith was charged by university police last week with marijuana possession and possession of drug parapherna- lia, six weeks after police discovered drugs and related items in his on- campus apartment when they entered to investigate a damaged window screen. A senior from White Plains, Md., Smith finished third on the team last season with 25 catches for 402 yards. He sat out much of spring practice with an injured left foot, but he has been expected to have a substantial role in the team's new- look passing offense with last year's top pass-catcher, Derek Moye, hav- ing graduated. There was no word as of press time on how the charges might affect Smith's status with the team. Earlier this spring, Penn State coach Bill O'Brien said he was gath- ering information about Smith's sit- uation. FOOTBALL Paterno estate receives $5.76M Penn State announced April 19 that the Joe Paterno estate is receiving $5.76 million in retire- ment benefits and payments from the university. Of that sum, $3 million was part of a retirement bonus from an August 2011 contract amendment. According to the university, the payment has already been delivered to the family, completing Penn State's financial obligations to the Paterno estate. W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M – TIM OWEN Penn State Coaches Caravan touring Nittany Nation At least 12 head coaches were scheduled to participate as the Penn State Coaches Caravan began its seven-state, 18-stop tour April 30 with two events in Philadelphia. Penn State football coach Bill O'Brien is headlining the bus tour of numerous Penn State alumni and fan strong- holds across Pennsylvania, Ohio and the Eastern Seaboard. O'Brien was scheduled to participate in all 18 Coaches Caravan stops over nine days through May 16. The Nittany Lion Club and the Penn State Alumni Association have teamed up to organize the tour, which is intended to give fans a chance to meet some of the leaders of Penn State Athletics. The Coaches Caravan will feature selected coaches speaking and answering questions from Penn State alumni and fans at every stop. Details and registration information for every stop on the Coaches Caravan tour are available at www.GoPSUsports.com and www.alumni.psu.edu/coachescaravan. Advance registration is required for all Coaches Caravan events. The remaining stops on the tour are as follows: MAY 8Penn State Hazleton (lunch)Coaches: O'Brien (football), Coquese Washington (women's basketball), Greg Nye (men's golf)Lehigh Valley (evening)Coaches: O'Brien, Washington, Nye MAY 9Woodbridge, N.J. (lunch)Coaches: O'Brien, Washington, NyeNew York (evening)Coaches: O'Brien, Washington, Russ Rose (women's vol- leyball), Nye MAY 10Hartford, Conn. (lunch)Coaches: O'Brien, NyeScranton, Pa. (evening)Coaches: O'Brien, Nye MAY 14 Penn State Altoona (breakfast)Coaches: O'Brien, Guy Gadowsky (men's hockey), Mark Pavlik (men's volleyball)Pittsburgh (evening)Coaches: O'Brien, Gadowsky, Pavlik, Josh Brandwene (women's hockey) MAY 15 Youngstown, Ohio (lunch)Coaches: O'Brien, Washington, Gadowsky, Pavlik Cleveland (evening)Coaches: O'Brien, Washington, Gadowsky, Pavlik MAY 16Penn State Erie, The Behrend College (lunch)Coaches: O'Brien, Gadowsky, PavlikBuffalo (evening)Coaches: O'Brien, Gadowsky, Brandwene, Pavlik WASHINGTON COQUESE BWI file photo J U N E 1 , 2 0 1 2 5

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