The Sackett Building started construction in the fall of 2024, with a start date set in November. According to the OPP, “Once renovated, Sackett will feature 12 general-purpose classrooms with 40 to 130 seats and a knowledge commons.”

The fall of 2024 was a year and a half ago, though it feels like the construction has been going on for a lifetime. During that year and a half, Penn State has had some major events, news, and headlines. So here is an unofficial list of 13 things Penn State has done, all while Sackett was still under construction.

November 2024: Largest Beaver Stadium Attendance

During Penn State’s dominant 2024-25 football season, Ohio State unfortunately had to play Penn State on its home turf. The energy before, during, and after the game was electric, despite the Nittany Lions’ 20-13 loss.

This game set a record attendance of 111,030 fans, which has yet to be beaten.

December 2024: First Big Ten Championship Appearance In Nearly A Decade

Once again, during Penn State’s dominant 2024-25 season, the team made it through to the Big Ten Championship game against Oregon. The game was close and ended with a 37-45 loss for Penn State.

This was the first time since 2016 that Penn State made it to the Big Ten Championship.

December 2024: First Women’s Volleyball NCAA Championship Title In A Decade

The 2024-25 season was all-around strong for Penn State sports. Under head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, Penn State’s women’s volleyball team won the NCAA National Championship, its eighth overall but first since 2014.

The Nittany Lions made history with a 3-1 victory over the Louisville Cardinals, becoming the first Division I program to win a national volleyball title under the leadership of a woman head coach.

January 2025: First CFP Appearance For Penn State

Continuing with the Penn State sports 2024-25 season, football makes another appearance on this list with its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance in program history.

In the first round, No. 6 seed Penn State defeated No. 11 seed SMU with a score of 38-10 at the end of December. The Nittany Lions moved on to the quarterfinal Fiesta Bowl and defeated No. 3 seed Boise State with a score of 31-14.

During the semifinals, Notre Dame defeated Penn State in a hard-fought game ending with a score of 27-24 after Drew Allar allowed an interception. This interception gave Notre Dame the chance to kick the winning field goal with only seconds left.

March 2025: Men’s Hockey First Frozen Four Appearance

In March, Penn State men’s hockey continued the pattern of championships for Penn State sports by making its first appearance in the Frozen Four. After defeating UConn 3-2 in overtime at Allentown, it lost in the final four against Boston University 3-1 in St. Louis.

The program made history by advancing to the Frozen Four for the first time in its 12-year history. The program became Division I in 2012 and joined the Big Ten in 2013, making it relatively new in the sphere of Division I hockey.

April 2025: The Great Penn State Blackout

In April, during the time when many people were cramming for finals, Centre County got slammed by a derecho. For those unfamiliar, a derecho is a fast-moving band of thunderstorms with high, destructive winds that border on tornado speeds. They’re also known as “inland hurricanes.”

Power went out throughout most of campus and downtown, leaving businesses, restaurants, apartments, and other on and off-campus facilities with nothing but darkness. Some buildings didn’t have power for two to three days, and the lines at Starbucks in the library were almost going out the door.

Despite everyone hoping that the university would cancel finals, that didn’t happen, and left many students disgruntled, considering their studying was disrupted. The one good thing to come from this storm? The videos and YikYak posts, including the infamous one of the IM Ref.

May 2025: Susan Welch Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

The Susan Welch building was finished in late 2024, with the actual facilities opening in early 2025. The building was constructed to be the new hub for all liberal arts students, and had a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

It cost approximately $127.7 million and was the first new liberal arts building on campus in over 50 years. Construction started in August 2022.

July 2025: Ellie Sheehan Named First Female Drum Major

In the summer between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years, Penn State’s Blue Band announced fifth-year marketing major, Ellie Sheehan, as drum major. This was a historic moment for both Sheehan and Penn State, as Sheehan became the first woman to be named drum major in the 125-year history of the Blue Band.

Sheehan had her first flip on Beaver Stadium’s field during the home opener against the University of Nevada on August 30, 2025.

October 2025: James Franklin Fired

During his 12th season with Penn State Football, James Franklin was fired following a 3-3 start to the season. Penn State lost to Northwestern and UCLA, which didn’t have a win the entire season, and were also being coached by an interim staff, as well as an offensive coordinator who didn’t know how to use the headset.

These losses, as well as harsh criticism from donors, fans, and students, brought serious talks of Franklin being fired to the table. Shortly after, there was a buyout settlement of approximately $49 million that was settled to around $9 million.

Franklin went to Virginia Tech and took most of the coaching staff with him, while Terry Smith came in as interim head coach and led Penn State to finish the season off with a 7-6 overall record.

November 2025: Susan Welch Building Closes

Remember the Susan Welch Building that opened in May of 2025? Well, just 6 months later, the building closed following localised structural issues that caused a crack which spanned from the second floor to the roof. The issue has not been disclosed; however, the building settled 2 inches.

No one was injured, but reentry is closed to the public, and all classes and activities were promptly canceled and rescheduled to new rooms.

December 2025: Matt Campbell Hired As Penn State Head Coach

Matt Campbell was hired in December of 2025 as Penn State football’s new head coach, with an eight-year, $70.5 million contract. He was known for rebuilding Iowa State’s football program, and fans speculate he was hired to do the same here at Penn State.

The search for a head coach lasted 54 days and had fans, opponents, and students alike, all speculating about who might be the new head of Penn State. Though many cheered for Terry Smith to be the head coach, few were disappointed in the decision to hire Matt Campbell.

January 2026: Men’s & Women’s Hockey Take To Beaver Stadium

At the end of January, Penn State hosted its first-ever outdoor hockey games during what the school deemed “Winter Sports Weekend.” It was a doubleheader for the women’s team vs. Robert Morris, which ended with a 3-0 win in the first game and a 5-2 win in the second.

For the men’s team, Penn State faced Michigan State in a heated matchup at Pegula Ice Arena on January 30, where Michigan State won 6–3. The outdoor game the following day also went to the Spartans, who earned a 5–4 overtime victory.

Though the weather was far below freezing, fans showed up for the Nittany Lions and set a record high attendance for both teams. The women’s team broke its single-game attendance record with a total of 1,838 fans filling Beaver Stadium, and the men’s team broke its attendance record with a total of 74,575 fans.

March 2026: Women’s Hockey First Frozen Four Appearance

Penn State’s women’s hockey team achieved another historic milestone only two months after its outdoor series. In March of this year, it reached its first-ever NCAA Frozen Four, which was hosted at home in Pegula Ice Arena.

Penn State was on a historic run this season, and shut out UConn 3-0 in the regional final. The team has remarkable players in its roster, including Tessa Janecke, who just won the Olympic Gold with Team USA, as well as Matilde Fantin and Nicole Hall, who made their Olympic debuts for Italy and Sweden, respectively.

Penn State took on Wisconsin in the semifinal and fell to the Badgers in a hard-fought 4-3 overtime loss. The game should be seen as anything but a loss, however, because they rounded out their record-setting season with a new attendance record of 5,176 people.

---

Many things have happened since the Sackett Building started construction and renovations, and considering the project is only about halfway through, there is plenty of time for more shocking headlines to drop about Penn State.