Student gains celebrity as double for Lady Lions coach Rene Portland

University Park, Pa. -- Katie Bogniak leads a double life: weekdays, she's an information sciences and technology major; weekends and some weeknights in the Bryce Jordan Center, she doubles as Rene Portland, coach of the Penn State Lady Lions basketball team.

In a blond wig she hand-sewed, Bogniak paces the sidelines during home games, stomping her feet when she's unhappy with a play or call, jumping and waving her arms to pump up the crowd. She looks the part, too: as well as the wig, she wears suits, a pin on her left lapel, eye make-up and Portland's signature high heels that hurt Bogniak's feet by the end of every game.

Not as tall as Portland, Bogniak goes by "Mini Me," a nickname given by the coach.

"I like Rene, I like impersonating her," says Bogniak, who graduates in May. "I don't want to leave -- I'm having too much fun."

So are Bogniak's "boys," the 12 guys who paint themselves to represent each member of the Lady Lions. Bogniak recruits friends and friends of friends so that every player is paired up with a fan for every game.

This year, for the first time, Bogniak took "Mini Me" on the road, traveling to Indianapolis for the Big Ten championships. Besides the Lady Lions, she saw other familiar faces: coaches of other teams who have noted Bogniak's dedication to women's basketball.

"We're the talk of the Big Ten, the hot topic," Bogniak says. "We've been called 'the best fans ever.'"

A piccolo player with the Penn State Pep Band, Bogniak played at many of the men's and women's games before she began the impersonation near the end of the 2002-03 season. She created "Mini Me" figuring the fans and Penn State coaches would get a kick out of it, she recalled.

Offered free tickets to continue, she became a sideline fixture and switched to playing piccolo solely at the men's games.

Fame hasn't come easy. For every home game, Bogniak and her "boys" arrive at least 3.5 hours early so as to snag the front row seats. Once there, Bogniak and the boys suit up: she in two-piece suits -- "Rene's very fashion-conscious," Bogniak says -- they in painted-on "jerseys."

"Every once in a while, they get cold," Bogniak says.

For the recent Purdue game, Bogniak and her "boys" had a longer cold spell as they set up six tents and camped out over night at The Bryce Jordan Center.

That dedication paid off: Portland brought them a breakfast of bagels, doughnuts, coffee and hot chocolate; they were filmed by ESPN; and Portland brought Bogniak out on the court as part of Senior Day.

With graduation looming, Bogniak has found a possible replacement for herself -- another Blue Band piccolo player, Joanna Hassell.

"It would be cool if this would carry on for years," Bogniak says.