Penn State Nittany Lions From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Penn State Nittany Lions University Pennsylvania State University Conference Big Ten Conference NCAA Division I Athletics director Tim Curley Location State College, PA Varsity teams 29 Football stadium Beaver Stadium Basketball arena Bryce Jordan Center Baseball stadium Medlar Field at Lubrano Park Soccer stadium Jeffrey Field Lacrosse stadium Jeffrey Field Other arenas 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 are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University. The school colors are blue and white. (Initially, the colors were black and pink. Legend holds that they were changed to blue and white after the colors faded.) 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 ECAC Lacrosse League; women's lacrosse in American Lacrosse Conference; and men's volleyball in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA). The fencing teams operate as independents. The Penn State All-Sports Museum, 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 honors the well-known Penn State football team, the Penn State Blue Band, Penn State Cheerleading, and the student athletes who have portrayed the Nittany Lion mascot. 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] Contents [hide] 1 Football 2 Basketball 3 Volleyball 4 Fencing 5 Field hockey 6 Gymnastics 7 Soccer 8 Olympians 9 Facilities 10 Current varsity sports programs 11 Current intercollegiate club sports 12 National championships 13 Big Ten championships 14 Penn State radio affiliates 15 References 16 External links [edit] Football Penn State's football teamSee also: Penn State Nittany Lions football 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 stadium is the largest in the country with a seating capacity of over 107,282. The largest crowd ever at Beaver Stadium was on September 14, 2002, as 110,753 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 has been the head coach for the Nittany Lion football team since 1966 and is regarded as one of the most successful and venerable national coaches. 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 26 times as of 2005. Panorama of 7th largest crowd in school history, 13 Oct 2007Penn 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[4] The Senior Section, dressed to spell out the letter "S"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.[5] 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.[6] [edit] Basketball Main article: Penn State Nittany Lions men's basketball Penn State's Bryce Jordan CenterPenn 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 women's basketball teams (the only Penn State Athletic team not known as "Nittany Lions," but instead using the monicker "Lady Lions") have had more success, often gaining berths into the women's NCAA tournament. Rene Portland, head coach since 1980 until her resignation on March 22, 2007, was the source of recent controversy due to her alleged stances on homosexuality among players on her team. [edit] Volleyball Main article: Penn State Nittany Lions volleyball Penn State practicing before the 2007 NCAA championship against Stanford in Sacramento, California at the ARCO ArenaPenn State is home to one of the top men's and women's volleyball programs. 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 963-159, an .858 winning percentage, which ranks first in NCAA history. On September 21, 2007, Rose earned his 900th career victory with a win over Michigan State, being only the third Division I coach in history to reach the milestone. In 29 of 30 seasons under Rose, there have been at least 1 All-American on his team. The women's volleyball program is one of only two DI universities to appear in every NCAA tournament (1981-2008). They have won three NCAA National Championships in 1999, 2007 and 2008, beating Stanford University all three times. They were the national runner ups in 1993, 1997 and 1998 and reached the final four in 1994. The women's team holds a four NCAA records. They are tied with Nebraska for the NCAA record for home match winning streaks (87), in which they did not drop a match at Rec Hall for over six seasons. 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.[7] 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. 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 match before joining the Big Ten. In the Big Ten, they have won 12 titles since 1991, including a conference record 6 straight (2003-08). During Big Ten play, they have had a perfect 20-0 conference record 5 times (1998, 1999, 2005, 2007, 2008), more than any other Big Ten school who have accomplished the feat combined. They also received Big Ten Freshman of the Year 6 straight years (2002-07), the Big Ten Player of the Year 4 straight years (2005-08) 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. 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, his first ever. Russ Rose, the 2007 AVCA National Coach of the Year for the women's team, gave Penn State volleyball yet another sweep in the 2007-08 academic year, joining only Stanford from 1991-92 to sweep AVCA National Coach of the Year honors. 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. [edit] Fencing Penn State is a fencing powerhouse, winning a record 10 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). In fact they 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. [edit] Field hockey 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. [edit] Gymnastics 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. [edit] Soccer Women's soccer has also been particularly strong, as the program has won eleven straight Big Ten Championships through the 2008 season. [edit] Olympians Main article: List of Pennsylvania State University Olympians Athletes from Penn State have won five gold medals, six silver medals, and 11 bronze medals.[8] 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. [edit] Facilities Rec HallThe 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 Horace Ashenfelter Indoor Facility. Construction has been completed for a new baseball stadium named Medlar Field at Lubrano Park and it 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. 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. [edit] Current varsity sports programs Men's Baseball Basketball Cross Country Fencing Football Golf Gymnastics Indoor Track & Field Lacrosse Outdoor Track & Field Soccer Swimming & Diving Tennis Volleyball Wrestling Women's Basketball Cross Country Fencing Field Hockey Golf Gymnastics Indoor Track & Field Lacrosse Outdoor Track & Field Soccer Softball Swimming & Diving Tennis Volleyball [edit] Current intercollegiate club sports The university is home to a number of intercollegiate club sports as well. The popular men's hockey team, the Icers, plays in the American Collegiate Hockey Association(ACHA) Men's Division I. The women's hockey team, the Lady Icers, plays in the East Coast Women's Hockey League (ECWHL) and the ACHA Women's Division I. The PSU Roller Hockey team competes in the Eastern Collegiate Roller Hockey Association (ECRHA). 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, and 2007. Cross country, is a member of the National Intercollegiate Running Club Association [9] [edit] National championships Penn State has won 63 national team championships all time[10], 35 of which are NCAA championships.[11] The 35 Division I NCAA championships ranks eighth all time, trailing only UCLA, Stanford University, USC, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, LSU, and 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). Men's Boxing - 1924, 1927, 1929, 1930, 1932 Cross Country - 1942 (co), 1947, 1950 Football - 1982, 1986 Gymnastics - 1948, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1965, 1976, 2000, 2004, 2007 Soccer - 1926 (co), 1929, 1933, 1936 (co), 1937 (co), 1938, 1939 (co), 1940 (co), 1949 (co), 1954, 1955 (co) Volleyball - 1994, 2008 Wrestling - 1921, 1953 Women's Bowling - 1979 Fencing - 1980, 1981, 1983 Field Hockey - 1980, 1981 Gymnastics - 1978, 1980 Lacrosse - 1978, 1979, 1980, 1987, 1989 Volleyball - 1999, 2007, 2008 Combined Fencing - 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2007 Bold indicates an NCAA championship. [edit] Big Ten championships Athletic Director Tim Curley speaking at a pep rally.Since joining the Big Ten in 1991, Penn State has won 48 regular season Big Ten Championships, and 11 tournament championships. 1992-93 - Women's Volleyball* 1993-94 - Women's Basketball*, Field Hockey, Men's Soccer, Women's Volleyball 1994-95 - Women's Basketball (season* and tournament), Football 1995-96 - Baseball, Women's Basketball (tournament), Field Hockey (tournament) 1996-97 - Field Hockey (tournament), Women's Volleyball* 1997-98 - Field Hockey (season* and tournament), Women's Volleyball* 1998-99 - Field Hockey (season and tournament), Women's Soccer (season and tournament), Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Volleyball 1999-00 - Women's Basketball, Women's Soccer, Women's Volleyball 2000-01 - Women's Soccer (season and tournament) 2001-02 - Women's Soccer (season and tournament), Women's Swimming & Diving 2002-03 - Women's Basketball, Men's Gymnastics, Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer 2003-04 - Women's Basketball, Women's Indoor Track & Field, Women's Soccer, Women's Volleyball 2004-05 - Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming & Diving, Women's Volleyball 2005-06 - Field Hockey, Football*, Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer, Women's Volleyball, Women's Swimming & Diving 2006-07 - Women's Soccer (season and tournament), Women's Volleyball 2007-08 - Women's Soccer (season), Women's Volleyball, Men's Gymnastics, Women's Outdoor Track & Field 2008-09 - Women's Soccer (season* and tournament), Field Hockey (season), Women's Volleyball, Football* * denotes shared regular season conference title [edit] Penn State radio affiliates See also: PSU Network Affiliates WAEB-AM (790) Allentown WVAM-AM (1430) Altoona WILK-FM (103.1) Avoca WBFD-AM (1310) Bedford WLCY-FM (106.3) Blairsville WQRM-FM (99.3) Bradford WISR-AM (680) Butler WHGL-FM (100.3) Canton WCHA-AM (800) Chambersburg WQYX-FM (93.1) Clearfield WCPA AM (900) Clearfield WFRM-FM (96.7) Coudersport WZDB-FM (95.9) DuBois WYGL-FM (100.5) Elizabethville WHGL-FM (102.9) Elmira, NY WPSE-AM (1450) Erie WFRA-AM (1450) Franklin WGET-AM (1320) Gettysburg WJEJ-AM (1240) Hagerstown, MD WHVR-AM (1280) Hanover WHP AM (580) Harrisburg WKZN-AM (1300) Hazleton WRKY-FM (104.9) Hollidaysburg WPSN-AM (1590) Honesdale WLAK-FM (103.5) Huntingdon WNTJ AM (1490) Johnstown WLPA-AM (1490) Lancaster WNPV-AM (1440) Lansdale WLBR-AM (1270) Lebanon WIEZ-AM (670) Lewistown WMRF-FM (95.7) Lewistown WSNU-FM (92.1) Lock Haven WNBQ FM (92.3) Mansfield WWBE-FM (98.3) Mifflinburg WVNJ-AM (1160) New York, NY WOYL-AM (1340) Oil City WNTP-AM (990) Philadelphia WEAE-AM (1250) Pittsburgh WPAZ-AM (1370) Pottstown WAVT-FM (101.9) Pottsville WPPA-AM (1360) Pottsville WLGL-FM (92.3) Riverside WRAW-AM (1340) Reading WBZU-AM (910) Scranton WYGL-AM (1240) Selinsgrove WQRM-FM (106.3) Smethport WKBI-AM (1400) St. Marys WMAJ AM (1450) State College WBUS-FM (93.7) State College WKOK-AM (1070) Sunbury WPIE-AM (1160) Trumansburg, NY WTRN-AM (1340) Tyrone WPNT-AM (1340) Uniontown WCZT-FM (98.7) Villas, NJ WKNB-FM (104.3) Warren WNBT-FM (104.5) Wellsboro WILK-AM (980) Wilkes-Barre WKSB-FM (102.7) Williamsport WSBA AM (910) York GoPSUsports.com (Internet) Worldwide [edit] References ^ Penn State Logo ^ Penn State No. 9 in final Director Cup standings ^ Bringing back linebacker U ^ Winning percentage in bowl games. ^ "Nittany Lions Well-Represented on Super Bowl XLI Squads". Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. 2007-01-22. http://www.gopsusports.com/pressreleases/pressrelease.cfm?anncid=11640. Retrieved on 2007-01-23. ^ "The Most Valuable College Football Teams". Forbes.com. 2006-12-22. http://www.forbes.com/business/2006/12/22/college-football-ncaa-business_cz_jg_1222collegefootball.html. Retrieved on 2007-01-15. ^ No. 1 Women's Volleyball Sets NCAA Record, Sweeps No. 17 Illinois ^ All Time Penn State Olympians ^ (NIRCA) NIRCA. ^ "Traditions - Penn State University Official Athletic Site". gopsusports.com. http://gopsusports.cstv.com/trads/national-champions.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-09. ^ "Schools with the Most NCAA National Championships". NCAA. http://www.ncaa.org/champadmin/champs_listing1.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-09. [edit] External links Penn State Athletics Official Site [show]v • d • eThe Pennsylvania State University Academics Smeal College of Business • Eberly College of Science • College of Communications • College of Earth and Mineral Sciences • College of Information Sciences and Technology • School of International Affairs • College of Medicine • Schreyer Honors College • Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies • Dickinson School of Law • Pennsylvania College of Technology Athletics Sports: Basketball • Football (roster) • Volleyball Facilities: Beaver Stadium • Bryce Jordan Center • Golf Courses • Medlar Field at Lubrano Park • Rec Hall Related: Blue Band • Governor's Victory Bell • Land Grant Trophy • Nittany Nation Buildings Academic buildings • Residence halls • University libraries • Old Main • Berkey Creamery • Hetzel Union Building (HUB) • Radiation Science & Engineering Center Campuses University Park • Abington • Altoona • Berks • Beaver • Brandywine • DuBois • Erie (Behrend College) • Fayette (Eberly College) • Greater Allegheny • Harrisburg (Capital College) • Hazleton • Lehigh Valley • Mont Alto • New Kensington • Schuylkill • Shenango • Wilkes-Barre • Worthington Scranton • York People George W. Atherton • James A. Beaver • Milton S. Eisenhower • Joe Paterno • Rene Portland • Russ Rose • Graham Spanier • Fred Waring Media The Daily Collegian • WKPS (90.7 FM) • WPSU (91.5 FM) • WPSU-TV • Phroth Student Life State College • Alma Mater • Dance Marathon (THON) • The Dreamers • Fight On, State • Glee Club • Mount Nittany • Nittany Lion (mascot) • The Nittany Lion • Old Coaly [show]v • d • eBig Ten Conference Illinois (Fighting Illini) • Indiana (Hoosiers) • Iowa (Hawkeyes) • Michigan (Wolverines) • Michigan State (Spartans) • Minnesota (Golden Gophers) • Northwestern (Wildcats) • Ohio State (Buckeyes) • Penn State (Nittany Lions) • Purdue (Boilermakers) • Wisconsin (Badgers) Big Ten Network [show]v • d • eECAC Lacrosse League Fairfield • Georgetown • Hobart • Loyola • Massachusetts • Penn State • Rutgers • St. John’s [show]v • d • eEastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tait Division George Mason • Juniata • NJIT • Penn State • Princeton • Springfield • Saint Francis Hay Division East Stroudsburg • Harvard • New Haven • NYU • Rutgers-Newark • Sacred Heart [show]v • d • eMarching bands of the Big Ten Conference Marching Illini (Illinois) • Indiana University Marching Hundred (Indiana) • Hawkeye Marching Band (Iowa) • Michigan Marching Band (Michigan) • Spartan Marching Band (Michigan State) • University of Minnesota Marching Band (Minnesota) • The Ohio State University Marching Band (Ohio State) • Penn State Blue Band (Penn State) • Purdue All-American Marching Band (Purdue) • Wildcat Marching Band (Northwestern) • University of Wisconsin Marching Band (Wisconsin) Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_State_Nittany_Lions" Categories: ECAC Lacrosse League | Penn State Nittany Lions | College athletic programs | Big Ten Conference | University and college sports clubs