Archive: June, 2011
Joe Juliano
Penn State has had rivalries within the Big Ten against Ohio State and Michigan State, but its biggest rival has been off the schedule for quite some time to the dismay of the diehards of Nittany Nation.
But that one true rival is coming back on the schedule. The Nittany Lions and Pittsburgh will resume their long-time duel in 2016 with a home-and-home series.
The two teams will play on Sept. 10, 2016 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, and on Sept. 16, 2017 at Beaver Stadium.
The first thing Pat Chambers will have to do to get Penn State to the forefront of recruiting in Southeastern Pennsylvania is forge contacts with the area’s AAU coaches. Penn State’s reluctance to deal with the AAU coaches who so frequently control a prospect’s future has been the major reason for the Lions’ inability to bring in top prospects.
Talk to local amateur coaches, or to observers of the recruiting scene, and they’ll tell you Penn State is invisible in AAU circles. No one, in fact, can remember ever seeing a Penn State coach at a major AAU event. And since, in 21st century recruiting, it’s the AAU coaches – NOT the high school coaches – who call the shots, this is vital to Chambers’ future success.
Villanova, where he honed his craft, has done well in that area. In Chambers’ two seasons in Boston, he did well in attracting the mid-major level player. Whether he can attract Big Ten-caliber players from the AAU ranks remains to be seen. And whether they will stay in Centre County if recruited is another question. But he’ll have to at least bang on the door.
Joe Juliano
Call it “Meeting of the Minds” or “Clash of the Titans.”
Whatever the case, it’s sure to be a special day June 20 when Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski come together for the taping of an ESPN special at the Eisenhower Auditorium on Penn State’s main campus.
The show, hosted by ESPN college football and basketball studio host Rece Davis, will be taped at 1:30 p.m. that day in front of an invitation-only audience for telecast on June 30.
Joe Juliano
Penn State's eagerly anticipated home game against Alabama on Sept. 10 will start at 3:30 p.m. and be televised on ABC, it was announced Tuesday.
It will mark the first time that the Crimson Tide has played at Beaver Stadium since 1989. They hold a 9-5 advantage in the series against the Lions, including a win last year at Tuscaloosa.
- Poll: Most popular old guy: (1122 votes)
This season is Joe's fourth season on the paper's Penn State beat. He previously covered the Nittany Lions for United Press International from 1976 to 1984.
Emily Kaplan is the Inquirer’s fall intern covering the Nittany Lions. She is a senior at Penn State and has covered a variety of sports for the university’s student-run paper, The Daily Collegian. Over the last two years, she has reported for The Associated Press from State College.
A Montclair, N.J. native, she has also interned at MLB Network, NHL.com and covered the 2012 Olympics in London. Follow her on Twitter here @EKaplan24.
