| Penn State Nittany Lions | |
| University | Pennsylvania State University |
|---|---|
| Conference(s) | Big Ten |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletics director | David M. Joyner (acting) |
| Location | State College, PA |
| Varsity teams | 29 |
| Football stadium | Beaver Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Bryce Jordan Center |
| Baseball stadium | Medlar Field at Lubrano Park |
| Other arenas | Pegula Ice Arena Penn State Golf Courses Penn State Ice Pavilion Rec Hall |
| Mascot | Nittany Lion |
| Nickname | Nittany Lions and Lady Lions |
| Fight song | Fight On, State |
| Colors | Blue and White
|
| Homepage | www.gopsusports.com |
The Penn State Nittany Lions (Lady Lions for women's basketball only) are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University. The school colors are blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The Intercollegiate Athletics Logo was commissioned in 1983.[1]
Penn State participates in the NCAA Division I FBS and in the Big Ten Conference for most sports. A few sports participate in different conferences because they are not sponsored by the Big Ten: men's lacrosse in the Colonial Athletic Association, women's lacrosse in American Lacrosse Conference, and men's volleyball in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA). The fencing teams operate as independents.
Penn State has finished in the top 25 each of the 15 years that the NACDA Director's Cup has been in existence. This is a list compiled by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics that charts institutions' overall success in college sports. PSU finished in 9th place in the 2007-08 standings, and it was the eighth time that they finished in the top 10. It was the highest finish in five years.[2]
Penn State has a large football following and attracts tens of thousands of visitors to its campus; the surrounding area is known as "Happy Valley" for tailgating and games on autumn Saturdays in Beaver Stadium. The largest crowd ever at Beaver Stadium was on September 14, 2002, as 110,753 people watched the Nittany Lions defeat the University of Nebraska by a score of 40-7. The school has earned a reputation as "Linebacker U" for the number of high-quality linebackers trained.[3] Joe Paterno was the head coach for the Nittany Lion football team from 1966 until he was fired on November 9, 2011, in the aftermath of the Penn State sex abuse scandal.[4] He was regarded as one of the most successful national coaches, holding the record for wins and bowl appearance. Penn State plays in two football "trophy games" with other members of the Big Ten. They are for the Governor's Victory Bell with the University of Minnesota and the season-ending Land Grant Trophy game versus Michigan State University.
Prior to joining the Big Ten, Penn State was one of the strongest of the independent schools in college football. They played a number of schools regularly, including Pitt, Syracuse, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Maryland and Alabama. Penn State has won the prestigious Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy, awarded for Eastern football supremacy, a record 28 times as of 2010. Penn State has also been named the ECAC FBS Team of the Year for a record 13th time.
Penn State won consensus National Championships in 1982 and 1986, both under Coach Paterno. The 1986 team won by defeating the University of Miami in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, which remains the most watched college football game in history. The school has had a number of other undefeated teams including 1909, 1911, 1912, 1920, 1921, 1947, 1968, 1969, 1973 and 1994, some of which have been awarded national championships from various sources. Penn State has the best winning percentage of any school in bowl games with a record of 26–12–2.[5]
Penn State is also among the leaders nationwide in terms of players advancing to the professional level. As of 2006, 29 former Penn State players and coaches were on the rosters of NFL teams, the tenth-highest such placement rate in the country. Penn State has been represented in at least one of the teams participating in the Super Bowl 37 of the 41 times the championship game has been played.[6]
A recent report indicated that Penn State's football program ranks 12th nationwide in terms of economic contributions to each program's university, athletic department, conference, and community. The report, based on ticket sales, sponsorships, football program expenses, athletic department expenses (non-football), shared conference profits, and county revenue figures during home football games, revealed that the Nittany Lions are presently worth roughly US$63 million.[7]
Penn State's men's basketball program reached the Final Four in 1954, though the best finish in recent years occurred in 2000-2001 with a trip to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament after a win over UNC in the round of 32. The most recent postseason championship for Penn State was the Men's National Invitational Tournament April 2, 2009. Penn State beat Baylor 69-63 to capture its first national title in school history.
The women's basketball teams (the only Penn State Athletic team not known as "Nittany Lions," but instead using the moniker "Lady Lions") have had more success, often gaining berths into the women's NCAA tournament, reaching the Final Four once. In 1976, the Lady Lions earned a berth in the AIAW women's basketball tournament, which Penn State hosted that year.
Notable alumni include: Frank Brickowski, John Amaechi, Calvin Booth, Mike Costello, Stanley Pringle, Geary Claxton, Jamelle Cornley, Suzy McConnell.
Penn State is home to one of the top men's and women's volleyball programs. Penn State is one of only 5 schools -- and the only school not in California -- to win a NCAA Championship for both men and women's volleyball, the others being Stanford, UCLA, USC, and Long Beach State.
The women's volleyball team is coached by Russ Rose, who, since his first season in 1979, has led the Lions to a record of 1,033-164, an .863 winning percentage, which ranks first in NCAA history. Rose has won 1,033 of the program's 1,084 total wins. On December 17, 2009, Rose earned his 1,000th career victory with a win against Hawaiʻi in the 2009 NCAA National Semifinals. In all 32 seasons except for 2001 under Rose, there have been at least 1 All-American on his team.
The program is one of only two DI universities to appear in every NCAA tournament (1981–2010). They have won five NCAA National Championships in 1999, 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2010. They were the national runners-up in 1993, 1997 and 1998 and also reached the Final Four in 1994.
The Women's team holds a five NCAA records. They hold the NCAA record for consecutive matches won, when they broke USC's record of 52 straight on November 14, 2008 with a sweep of Illinois.[8] As of the end of the 2009 season, the streak stood at 102 wins. The Lions won their first 7 matches of the 2010 season, before the streak was finally snapped on September 11, 2010 against Stanford in Gainesville, Florida at a record 109 wins. They have won 24 consecutive postseason games covering their four consecutive National Championships from 2007-2010.
In 2008, they became the first women's volleyball program in Division I, II, or III, to go through the regular season without losing a single set. Penn State broke the NCAA record of consecutive sets won, winning 111 sets in a row up until the third set of the 2008 NCAA National Semifinals. The previous record was 105 set by Florida in 2003. In 2009, they became the first Division I team to win three straight NCAA titles, and also became the first team to win two straight NCAA titles with undefeated seasons, as they went 38-0 in 2008 & 2009.
The Lions had an unprecedented success when Penn State was in the Atlantic 10 conference, as they won the title all 8 years without losing a single conference match before joining the Big Ten. In the Big Ten, they have won 14 titles since 1991, including a conference record 8 straight (2003–10). During Big Ten play, they have had a perfect 20-0 conference record 6 times (1998, 1999, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009), more than any other Big Ten school who have accomplished the feat combined. They also received Big Ten Freshman of the Year 8 of the 9 past seasons (2002–07, 2009–10), the Big Ten Player of the Year 6 straight seasons (2005–10) and became the first school in Big Ten history to sweep all 4 major Big Ten honors (2005).
The men's volleyball team is coached by Mark Pavlik. The program has won two NCAA National Championships in 1994 and 2008 and 16 EIVA titles out of 17 years, including 10 consecutive. They finished as NCAA National runners-up in 1982, 1995 and 2006, to UCLA each time (twice at Rec Hall). They reached the NCAA final four 24 times including 13 out of the last 14 years through the 2008 season and an NCAA record 10 consecutive (1998–2008).
The men's first national title came in 1994, when they beat powerhouse UCLA in five sets after being down 11-4 in the fourth set and then winning the fourth 15-12 and the fifth with the same score. The win made Penn State the first school outside of California in the then-24 year history to win an NCAA Men's volleyball championship. They won the NCAA title again in 2008, defeating Pepperdine 3-1. With the win, Penn State men and women's programs swept the volleyball championships in the same academic year, joining Stanford from 1996-97 to be the only schools to accomplish the rare feat.
Pavlik was named the 2008 AVCA National Coach of the Year.
Penn State is a fencing powerhouse, winning a record 12 national championships in the sport since the NCAA began awarding titles in combined men's and women's fencing in 1990. The team has finished either 1st or 2nd every season since 1990 except for 2005 (when they finished 3rd) and 2008 (when they finished 4th). The program won 6 NCAA Championships in a row from 1995 to 2000.
Emmanuil G. Kaidanov is the highly regarded coach of the fencing squads. The women's fencing team won national AIAW titles in 1980 and 1981, followed by an NCAA championship in 1983. The team recruits both nationally and throughout the globe and often has a number of highly touted international players.
The women's field hockey team is coached by Char Morett, Lisa Bervinchak-Love and Annie Zinkavich, all of whom are former Penn State Field Hockey players. In 2007, the women's Field Hockey team reached the National Championship game, but fell to undefeated UNC, 3-0. In their tournament run, they were able to defeat two time defending champion Maryland, 1-0, and defending national runner-up Wake Forest, 2-0. Jen Long was nominated for the Honda Award for her efforts. They also finished as NCAA runner ups in 2002, losing to Wake Forest in the title game 2-0 after defeating Old Dominion 3-2 in the semifinals. 2002 marked the first time Penn State reached the NCAA Finals and second time reaching the Final Four. The team won the AIAW national championships in 1980 and 1981. In 2011 the women's field hockey team won its fifth ever Big Ten title after defeating Michigan 3-2, and first since 1998 when they again defeated Michigan 3-1.
In 2007, the men's gymnastics team won their NCAA record 12th national championship, by defeating powerhouse Oklahoma at Rec Hall, with the score of 221.000-220.200, denying them a threepeat. The women's team won the AIAW national championship twice, in 1978 and 1980, edging out other dominant teams like Cal State-Fullerton and Utah.
The popular men's ice hockey team, the Icers, currently competes at the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Men's Division I level as a member of the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL). Penn State has won 7 ACHA DI National Championships in 1990, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003. The men's hockey team were champions of the University Hockey League during the 2003-04 and 2001-02 seasons; they were runners-up during the 2002-03, 2000–01, and 1998-99 seasons.[9] After years of speculation[10] the men's and women's programs will be elevated to varsity status beginning with the 2012-13 season. The team will continue to play in the 1,350-seat Penn State Ice Pavilion until the new Pegula Ice Arena is complete in late 2013 or early 2014.[11][12][13][14] The team will compete as an independent Division I team in the 2012-2013 season before joining the Big Ten, which is sponsoring men's ice hockey as a conference sport beginning with the 2013-2014 season.
The women's ice hockey team, the Lady Icers, currently competes at the ACHA Women's Division I level and play in the Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League (ECWHL). The programs will move to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level beginning in the 2012-13 season,[15] in which they will join College Hockey America, becoming the fifth member of the conference.[16] The lady Icers will continue to play in the 1,350-seat Penn State Ice Pavilion until the new Pegula Ice Arena is complete in late 2013 or early 2014.[11][12]
Before the NCAA began its tournament in 1959, the annual national champion was declared by the Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association from 1926 to 1958, the result of polls and the subjective opinion of the ISFA administrators. In that time, Penn State shared eight national championships and was selected three times as champion outright (1929, 1938, 1954). The rival College Soccer Bowl was held from 1950-1952 in an attempt to decide a national champion on the field. Penn State gained a last-minute tie in the 1950 championship final. The team won in 1951; however, the ISFA failed to select Penn State that year.
Women's soccer has also been particularly strong, as the program has won 14 straight Big Ten Championships through the 2011 season. The team capped its 2010 Big Ten season with four straight wins including a last-minute 1-0 double-overtime victory over Michigan on Nov. 7. The 14 consecutive Big Ten titles is an all-time Big Ten record for women's teams, surpassing the 12 by Michigan swimming & diving of the 1990s. Currently, PSU is ahead of Northwestern's women's tennis squad, which obtained its 14th straight title in 2011.
The Penn State women's lacrosse teams have won two NCAA titles, in addition to three United States Women's Lacrosse Association championships in 1978, 1979 and 1980.
The Penn State men's lacrosse team dates to 1913 and made recent headlines with their hiring of Cornell coach Jeff Tambroni.
The men's cross country team won NCAA titles in 1942, 1947 and 1950. Before the NCAA began sponsoring the cross country championship in 1938, and unlike today, the annual ICAAAA meet was a premier national championship event for track and field and cross country. The team won ICAAAA championships in 1926, 1927, 1928 and 1930. Penn State runners won the individual ICAAAA titles in 1920 (John Romig), 1927 and 1928 (William Cox, consecutively). PSU men also won ICAAAA team titles in 1950, 1951, 1960 and 2000, as well as individual crowns in 1938, 1946, 1987 and 2004.[17]
Before the NCAA began sponsoring a national championship in 1965, the men's indoor track and field team won ICAAAA titles in 1942 and 1959. PSU men also won ICAAAA team titles in 1984, 1987, 2001, 2003 and 2006.[18]
The university is home to a number of intercollegiate club sports that the university doesn't field at the NCAA level, and/or sports not sponsored by the NCAA.
In addition to the new varsity men's and women's ice hockey teams, PSU also field a club team in the ACHA DII playing in the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association.
The PSU Roller Hockey team competes in National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association at the NCRHA Division I level. The team is a Division I member of the Eastern Collegiate Roller Hockey Association (ECRHA). Penn State also field a team in the B Division of the NCRHA and ECRHA. The PSU B team won the NCRHA B Division Championship in 2010, the university's first national title in roller hockey.[19]
The men's and women's rugby team (Lady Ruggers) participate in the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU) territory at large and the Potomac Rugby Union for local divisional play. Both teams field perennial competitive sides with the women's team winning national titles in 1997, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2009, and 2010.
Cross country, is a member of the National Intercollegiate Running Club Association.[20]
Penn State has won 68 national team championships all time,[21] 40 of which are NCAA championships.[22] The 40 Division I NCAA championships ranks seventh all time, trailing only UCLA, Stanford, USC, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, LSU, and tied with Texas. Penn State has the most national championships of any Big Ten school. Most of the women's championships prior to 1982 occurred under the auspices of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). The NCAA did not start sponsoring women's championships until the 1981-82 academic year. Some of the men's championships occurred prior to the NCAA sponsoring a championship in that sport (for example, the NCAA did not start sponsoring a men's soccer championship until 1959) and some sports have never had recognized NCAA championships (such as Division I-A football).
Bold indicates an NCAA championship.
Since joining the Big Ten in 1991, Penn State has won 60 regular season Big Ten Championships, and 13 tournament championships. Men's Volleyball has also won 17 regular season EIVA Championships.
* denotes shared regular season conference title
Athletes from Penn State have won five gold medals, six silver medals, and 11 bronze medals.[23] The most recent medalists came in 2008 when Kevin Tan won the bronze medal with the U.S. gymnastics team and Adam Wiercioch won the silver medal with Poland in the fencing team épée competition.
The football team plays in the aforementioned Beaver Stadium. The men's and women's basketball teams play in the Bryce Jordan Center. Most of the other indoor teams play at Rec Hall, which was previously the long term home for the basketball teams as well. The school also is home to the Ashenfelter Multi-Sport Facility for indoor track. Other indoor facilities include Lasch Building & Holuba Hall for football; White Building houses gymnastics & fencing; and the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex is within Rec Hall.
A new baseball stadium named Medlar Field at Lubrano Park opened in June 2006. The stadium is host to both the University baseball team as well as the State College Spikes, a minor league baseball team. The ballpark is oriented towards the east, offering a view of Mount Nittany. The softball team will begin play at its new home, the Nittany Lion Softball Park in 2011. Jeffrey Field is home to the soccer and lacrosse programs as well.
Additionally, the university operates the Penn State Golf Courses, two courses for the golf teams, students, faculty, and the general public. The Intercollegiate Athletics Department operates the Stone Valley Recreation Area, approximately twenty miles southeast of State College.
The Penn State All-Sports Museum,[24] a museum honoring all Penn State Nittany Lion athletes, is located near Gate B of Beaver Stadium. The upper level of the museum is dedicated to Penn State basketball and other indoor sports, while the lower level of the museum is dedicated to outdoor sports. The football exhibit on the lower level features a Heisman Trophy—won by John Cappelletti—and a collection of several other trophies and awards, in addition to honoring the Penn State football team, the Penn State Blue Band, Penn State Cheerleading, and the student athletes who have portrayed the Nittany Lion mascot. The museum opened in February 2002.[25]
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