A new article in The Penn Stater magazine tells the story of the unheralded 1946 and 1947 Nittany Lion football squads -- two teams that that helped establish Penn State nationally as a top program and, more importantly, made the University a key factor in the nation's slow march to racial justice. The men who made up those two teams are widely thought to have inspired the University's iconic "We Are..." chant. Read more, and download a copy of the story from the magazine's November-December issue, at The Penn Stater blog: http://tinyurl.com/yzrp5ua online.
Earlier this year, Penn State Live also paid tribute to the teams. Watch the story of the "game that wasn't," when the entire Penn State football team refused to play at the segregated Orange Bowl in 1946, at http://live.psu.edu/youtube/OoCbPyPlfls online. Hear from Wally Triplett himself, talking about being first African-American to play in the Cotton Bowl in 1947, at http://live.psu.edu/youtube/OMB9ME4lCF8 online. (more)
Following the program's first Big Ten victory, the Penn State women's cross country team was well represented in the conference's postseason awards, headlined by individual conference champion Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio), who was named Big Ten Athlete of the Year. Director and Head Coach of Nittany Lion Track and Field/Cross Country Beth Alford-Sullivan was awarded Women's Coach of the Year honors, while rookie Nicole Lord (Media, Pa.) was declared Freshman of the Year after her outstanding finish at the conference meet last weekend. (more)
Penn State Lady Lion basketball senior Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) is among the 30 candidates for the women's basketball Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The award honors student-athletes who excel on and off the court and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition. Grant enters her final season at Penn State as an All-America candidate after being selected to the Wooden Award preseason watch list. The Preseason All-Big Ten selection finished second in the conference and 18th in the country with a 19.6 scoring average. Her scoring mark also ranks sixth on Penn State's single-season chart. (more)
Penn State coach Joe Paterno and junior linebacker Navorro Bowman (District Heights, Md.) and have been selected as semifinalists for two awards presented by the Maxwell Football Club. Paterno is among the 15 nominees for the Maxwell Football Club's college coach of the year honor, the George Munger Award. Paterno previously was selected as the George Munger Award recipient in 2005. Bowman is one of 16 players under consideration for the Chuck Bednarik Award, an honor bestowed upon the nation's top defensive player. (more)
Four members of the Penn State football team have been selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Football Team. The Nittany Lions' total is second-highest in the nation among Football Bowl Subdivision teams. The group is led by three Nittany Lions who earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors in 2008. Senior linebacker Josh Hull (Millheim) and senior kick snapper Andrew Pitz (Bettendorf, Iowa) were first team Academic All-Americans and junior center Stefen Wisniewski (Bridgeville) was selected a second team Academic All-American last year. They are joined on the 2009 Academic All-District team by senior punter Jeremy Boone (Mechanicsburg), who earns the honor for the second consecutive year. (more)
Penn State women's volleyball senior outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) has been named ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District II, the College Sports Information Directors of America announced. She is one of seven student-athletes named to the first team in District II and is now eligible for ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Honors. (more)
Penn State field hockey seniors Laura Cahill and Bethany Marvel have been named to the All-Big Ten Second Team as announced at the Big Ten Championship banquet on Thursday evening. It marks the second consecutive season that Marvel has been named to the all-conference second team while it is the first recognition for Cahill. (more)
Penn State's legendary Heisman Trophy winner, John Cappelletti, and national media personality Dan Patrick will be among the participants at the Sports Illustrated Heisman Tour Presented by Nissan here this weekend. The event celebrates the 75th Anniversary of the Heisman Trophy. The event will be held Saturday, Nov. 7 and will precede the highly-anticipated Penn State-Ohio State clash, which will begin at 3:30 p.m. in Beaver Stadium's 300th game. (more)
It's all about the competition. For Penn State senior David Grube and spring 2009 graduate David Steinour, the excitement of representing Penn State while competing against other university teams in big bass tournaments is a challenging and rewarding way to test their fishing expertise. (more)
At a recent conference, several experts convened to discuss some of the complexities of the "business" of big-time collegiate sports, such as why NCAA sports are tax exempt, how tax exemptions are regulated in other organizations, and the relationship between financial revenue and colleges' educational missions. (more)