On Monday, Penn State’s board of trustees sold the naming rights to its most prized piece of real estate for $50 million.

The gridiron of grass inside Beaver Stadium is becoming West Shore Home Field. It’s not as much as the $150 million Acrisure reportedly paid for 15 years of naming the Pittsburgh Steelers stadium, but it is one of the highest known deals in the NCAA.

Approving the agreement — over the objections of eight trustees, including former player and McKeesport native Brandon Short — will close the door on one ongoing issue.

Until 2039, the board will not be able to consider the oft-proposed idea of naming the field after late head coach Joe Paterno, fired in 2011 amid the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. If the vocal contingent of alumni supporting that idea wants to make it happen, fundraising should start immediately and shoot high to consider 15 years of inflation.

But maybe naming rights could be the solution to another Penn State problem.

How much would it cost to save a commonwealth campus?

In February, Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi announced that some of the 19 campuses were being assessed for closing. Among the potential targets are Greater Allegheny, New Kensington, Fayette and Beaver. It comes amid concerns of declining enrollment and budget concerns.

Bendapudi’s administration has been marked by roller coaster pivots in austerity, like scaling back staff and the proposed campus closures, and excess, like a $700 million Beaver Stadium renovation and increases to her own salary.

State lawmakers are pushing to keep their local doors open as communities develop symbiotic relationships with the campuses.

State Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa is putting together a proposal for three bills that would require the four state-related universities — Penn State, Pitt, Temple and Lincoln — to follow a process in closing branch campuses. It would require legislative oversight and public input as well as protection of regional access to higher education. It also would demand they analyze economic and workforce impact.

The suggested closings will no doubt be in the forefront of legislators’ minds as the funding for the state-related schools is part of the annual budget process. It makes the announcement and timing questionable. Will lawmakers be eager to give even the 2024 dollars if there will be fewer campuses and therefore fewer communities supported?

Perhaps Penn State should go back to the idea of naming rights. If the school can get $50 million for less than two acres of turf, maybe there are other companies that would step up and put their names on a campus for 15 years. Penn State Duolingo? Penn State PNC? Penn State Comcast?

Maybe it’s silly. Or maybe Penn State trustees should be as concerned with preserving the campuses that have helped build the university’s 775,000-strong alumni network as they are about acquiring money to make a Taj Mahal stadium project a fraction cheaper.

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