UNIVERSITY PARK, CENTRE COUNTY - Thousands of Penn State football fans gathered Tuesday to cheer on the Nittany Lions as they try to boost morale after the NCAA sanctions were announced last week.
The effort started from a radio show announcement from two former Nittany Lions last week and grew into about 4,000 people getting up early this morning and rallying for the Lions.
The rally gave the impression of a gameday at Beaver Stadium and was meant to give the team a boost, after months of criticism as a result of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
Most fans started gathering outside the Lasch Football building around 6 a.m., however, some were there earlier than that.
The Blue Band gave players a great start as they worked out inside and outside Holuba Hall.
Not all football players were working out today. But the ones who did got a great response from fans. Players trickled in at different times. Some after they got out of bed at 6 a.m., others coming an internship or a part-time job around 9 a.m.
The rally idea was announced by Keith Conlin and TIm Sweeney, two members of the Letterman's Club. They host a radio show called "The Goon Show." Once the rally was mentioned, about 1,000 fans went to Facebook saying they were coming. It turned out to be a much larger showing.
Next week, training camp starts for the Nittany Lions and players say this experience will stay with them for a long time.
"It was shocking, it was truly a great sight to see and it was definitely one of the top memories I have had here so far at Penn State and like I said I keep going back to it for myself and everybody else, you don't get this anywhere else," said Nittany Lion quarterback Matt McGloin.
Speculation continues about whether some Nittany Lions will stay or leave the program. Players at the workout say this type of effort from fans should be enough to keep them here.
So far, one player has transferred from Penn State. A few others have withdrawn their intention to enroll and some are considering whether to leave Happy Valley.
Alumni trustees, Anthony Lubrano, Ryan McCombie and Adam Taliaferro were also there in support of the team. Taliaferro says he's been courting players to stay.
The effort started from a radio show announcement from two former Nittany Lions last week and grew into about 4,000 people getting up early this morning and rallying for the Lions.
The rally gave the impression of a gameday at Beaver Stadium and was meant to give the team a boost, after months of criticism as a result of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
Most fans started gathering outside the Lasch Football building around 6 a.m., however, some were there earlier than that.
The Blue Band gave players a great start as they worked out inside and outside Holuba Hall.
Not all football players were working out today. But the ones who did got a great response from fans. Players trickled in at different times. Some after they got out of bed at 6 a.m., others coming an internship or a part-time job around 9 a.m.
The rally idea was announced by Keith Conlin and TIm Sweeney, two members of the Letterman's Club. They host a radio show called "The Goon Show." Once the rally was mentioned, about 1,000 fans went to Facebook saying they were coming. It turned out to be a much larger showing.
Next week, training camp starts for the Nittany Lions and players say this experience will stay with them for a long time.
"It was shocking, it was truly a great sight to see and it was definitely one of the top memories I have had here so far at Penn State and like I said I keep going back to it for myself and everybody else, you don't get this anywhere else," said Nittany Lion quarterback Matt McGloin.
Speculation continues about whether some Nittany Lions will stay or leave the program. Players at the workout say this type of effort from fans should be enough to keep them here.
So far, one player has transferred from Penn State. A few others have withdrawn their intention to enroll and some are considering whether to leave Happy Valley.
Alumni trustees, Anthony Lubrano, Ryan McCombie and Adam Taliaferro were also there in support of the team. Taliaferro says he's been courting players to stay.
Comments
Don't care...
FREDRICK F.
July 31, 2012 at 3:47 pm
Bushwood CC
Post #6104
MyFanPage
nally posted by chalkstream1:
Why do Universities have their own police force as opposed to using the funds allocated to that service for expansion of the local police department?
Don't want to be insulting, but you clearly misunderstand "University Park, PA" and are attributing U-Park, PA's Police Department to being a typical University Security Dept -- it is not. Many, such as yourself, fail to understand that U-Park, PA is a SELF-GOVERNED, fully-functional community in Central Pennsylvania -- none of its governance or services have anything to do with State College, PA. Again, it is an autonomous community from a governmental and government authority standpoint -- this is simply not true for most college campuses which are still subject to the authorities of the Cities or Municipalities they reside within (i.e., Campus Security is not a fully-functioning, duly-authorized, full-service Police Dept - often officers aren't even authorized to carry guns). In any event, in most ways U-Park, PA has the more sophisticated services relative to its neighbor State College, PA - for instance, the Airport which can land high capacity jets is located in University Park, PA, not State College, PA. The 15,000 seat "Civic Center and Arena" (concerts, shows, etc....) is located in University Park, PA, not State College, PA. The Baseball Stadium where the minor league team plays is located in University Park, PA, not State College, PA. Etc...so forth and so on....
University Park, PA is not a simple college campus - it is a fully functioning, self-governed community with very sophisticated public services that exceed most of its neighboring communities (i.e., they rely on U-Park, PA for these services, not the opposite). U-Park, PA's Police Department is just that - a fully-functioning, State-Recognized, fully staffed Police Dept with gun-carrying beat cops, detectives, dispatchers, safety officers, parking police, EMT Services, etc..... BTW, Gary Schultz is the Police Commissioner of this large, sophisticated and fully-autonomous POLICE DEPARTMENT. Comparing the U-Park, PA Police Dept to "campus security" is absurd, but you first have to understand that U-Park, PA is a large, fully autonomous, self-governing community - it is not just a "campus"
Sir M.
July 31, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Bushwood CC
Post #6104
MyFanPage
Add Buddy
Ignore
Taken directly from www.police.psu.edu website (link attached) Reply
Public Safety Resources
The University Police are responsible to the Senior Vice President for Finance and Business.
University Police provides protection and service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and employs:
52 police officers
2 security officers
6 police dispatch recorders
9 assistant police service officers
200 student auxiliary officers who are responsible for vehicle and crowd control during special events, security services, and residence hall security patrols
********************************************************************************************************************************
There you have it - right from the horses mouth (See hot-link first paragraph on top of Page 2). Looks like all you know-it-alls have just been silenced in regards to whether Schultz, SVP for Finance and Business in 2001, was the recognized Police Commissioner of the this duly-authorized and State-recognized autonomous Police Department!!!
Sir M.
July 31, 2012 at 1:00 pm
