Penn State University has had a few destructive riots since the 1990s that have resulted in thousands of dollars in damage and several arrests.

But none has been as destructive or consequential as the one Nov. 9 following the firing of legendary football coach Joe Paterno.

Those are almost double the arrests made in 2008, 2001 and 1998, when other downtown riots occurred.

In 2008, it was celebratory destruction — Penn State’s football victory over Ohio State.

During college basketball’s “March Madness” in 2001, Penn State’s defeat led to charges against out-of-control fans.

That summer, during the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts in State College, 20 were arrested following a riot.

And in 1998, more than 20 were arrested when $150,000 in damage was done during an arts festival riot that led to fires, downed lights and other destruction.

But this time, the calculated property damage is so far estimated at about $190,000 — much of it from the value of a local news satellite van that was tipped over, State College Police Chief Tom King said.

It’s the worst his department has had to deal with in 15 years, and some of his officers who were on the ground knew it even before the numbers were totaled.

“One, they were a lot more mobile,” State College Police Lt. Chris Fishel said of the rioters. “The use of cellphones and social media to switch gears real quick, that made it more difficult to manage. And compared to years past, there seemed to be a lot more anger.”

This time, instead of reveling in a win or bemoaning a loss, Penn State students lashed out at the university's board of trustees for firing their beloved football coach in the wake of the Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

Five days before, former Nittany Lions assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was charged with more than 40 counts of molestation and abuse, and two Penn State officials were accused of lying to a grand jury during the investigation.

Paterno’s moral obligations were questioned by the national media. Happy Valley was crumbling under the pressure.

The trustees’ decision to announce his firing at 10 p.m. after a day of bubbling tensions caught many admiring students off guard.

It also surprised police.

After students had gathered at Paterno’s home to show support as he returned from practice the night before, King asked for extra state police troopers to take an extra shift in State College.

But if he’d have known that such a big decision would be dropped Wednesday night, King said, he would have had much more staff.

“I’ve expressed my displeasure with the fact that the timing ... without us having advanced warning, presented a challenge,” he said. “But I don’t know that a conversation at a later time is fruitful, because it’s an unprecedented event, and I don’t know that it’s going to be helpful in the future.”

Of the 38 charged, 35 were students. Eight people are facing felony riot charges, and the rest face charges of misdemeanor disorderly conduct or summary public drunkenness.

Those with felonies or misdemeanors will be in court today for a preliminary hearing.

Almost everyone was identified by tips sent to the State College police website, where still photographs of suspects were posted.

King said he got search warrants for video footage of the destruction from several local television stations and from networks.

Other footage was taken from borough cameras that were installed downtown several years ago.

As far back as 2001, cellphone footage and videos posted to YouTube.com were used by State College police in identifying riot suspects.

The cost

— State College police have logged about 725 hours of overtime related to the Sandusky scandal, including for riot-related activities and extra staffing for Jerry Sandusky’s scheduled preliminary hearing, which was waived at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte on Dec. 13.

— That adds up to about $47,125 in taxpayer dollars.

— State College Police Chief Tom King said he expects his force to exceed its overtime budget for this year by about $7,500.