Office Hours is a series focusing on unique artifacts that BYU employees display in their offices.
Todd Pennington’s offices at BYU have an unexpected history.
His first office was once a janitor’s closet, where a previous faculty member had passed away. Today, his office is located in what was once the men’s wrestling team’s practice room inside the Smith Fieldhouse.
Pennington’s office is filled with objects that reflect the people and experiences that have shaped his life.
Among his most valuable items are baseball bats and baseballs from his childhood in San Diego, where he grew up attending Padres games with his brother.
“The Padres were terrible, which was good, because they're our favorite team,” Pennington said. “You could go to a game, pay less, pay like five bucks for a general admission ticket.”
Pennington and his brother would also attend batting practice, where they interacted with players. Some of those memories eventually became the baseball memorabilia found in his office, including bats and signatures from former All-Stars and Hall of Famers.
“I like to keep some of these,” Pennington said. “It just reminds me of all my fun, fun times.”
But sports aren’t the only thing that fills Pennington’s office. His favorite object is a reminder of his family: the wedding invitation of him and his wife, Krista.
Nearby are handwritten notes and gifts from his children when they were young.
“These are treasures now for me,” Pennington said.
The objects in Pennington’s office also reflect his unexpected path to BYU. His background and love for sports eventually led him from psychology and sports psychology into coaching education and, ultimately, teaching.
“All my sport background eventually tied into what I do now,” Pennington said. “But it wasn’t a very direct path.”
For Pennington, his office is a reminder of the ways God has worked throughout his life, bringing him to where he is today.
