Like you, we at Penn State Athletics are extremely
proud of our 800 student-athletes, our very professional and experienced
coaching staff, our medical and academic support personnel, and the more than
250 men and women who help to create and maintain an athletic program that is so
valued by the University and its Alumni.
Penn State Athletics welcomes those Alumni, friends, and fans
who value our work and take the time to visit our site on the World Wide Web.
Our Web presence allows us to keep you up to date with our intercollegiate
program regardless of the restrictions of time or distance. Whether near or far,
your Nittany Lions are always available at the click of a button.
As you'll read below, the mission of Intercollegiate Athletics
is to provide model programs that encourage student-athletes to reach their
highest potential on the field, in class, and at home. Penn State Athletics'
commitment to its student-athletes is unwavering, and at Penn State, being the
best always is the target.
We aspire to reach our objectives through 12 core values, listed
below, that place primary importance on the education and individuality of our
athletes, the excellence of our staff, and our contribution to the greater
community through outreach and service. Furthermore, our vision statement and
overriding goals, also contained on this page, convey the direction our program
is taking as we move into a promising future.
Over the years, Penn State teams have claimed 60 National
Championships, including NCAA titles by the fencing and men's
gymnastics teams in 2006-07. As a member of the Big Ten Conference since 1990, Penn State has captured 40 conference championships and 10 tournament titles, including a league record five championships during the 2005 Fall season.
We hope that GoPSUsports.com will provide all the Penn State
athletic coverage you desire, but-much like Penn State Athletics on the whole-we
are constantly striving to improve. Your suggestions and recommendations as to
how we might enhance the site are always welcomed.
Thanks for taking a moment to visit with Penn State Athletics on
the World Wide Web. Come back often!
| Dr. David Joyner
Acting Director of Athletics |
Consistent with the University's mission, Intercollegiate
Athletics strives for excellence by offering students model programs to develop
meaningful standards of scholarship, leadership, community service and
sportslike conduct within the educational and social environment of The
Pennsylvania State University.
- We believe in the primacy of the athlete as student from recruitment through
graduation.
- We respect each student as an individual and their personal welfare is our
highest priority.
- Our most important asset must always be our people.
- We view competition as the means to a healthy respect of self and others.
- We promote traditional values of honesty, integrity, commitment and hard
work as the foundation of Penn State's reputation and continuing success.
- We are committed to providing coaches who regard themselves first and
foremost as teachers.
- We value health and safety as paramount to a successful program of varsity,
club, intramural and recreational programs.
- Teamwork should prevail in all interactions among students, coaches, staff
and administrators.
- We regard athletics and recreation as integral to the mission and goals of
the University.
- We recognize the department's responsibility for public service, through an
aggressive community outreach program.
- No goal exceeds the mandate to educate and graduate the student-athlete.
- Our commitment is to complete development of Alumni whose athletic, academic
and interpersonal skills have reached the highest level of maturity.
It is the vision of Intercollegiate Athletics to maintain a
broad-based program the equal of any in the nation; to field teams that compete
at the highest levels of national and conference play; to encourage individual
excellence and the esteem that follows; to achieve the most favorable graduation
rate possible for student-athletes; to aid in the social preparation of young
people for the diverse world they are about to enter; to create an awareness of
public service and the importance of participation in community outreach; to
provide recreational facilities and opportunities to address every interest
area, and to entertain the University student body and staff, Alumni and fans
with a consistently high level of competition that does not compromise the
integrity which has characterized the Penn State program from its inception.
- To ensure that all student-athletes receive equitable treatment with equal
access to top quality coaching, excellent medical care, superior academic support
and facilities and equipment equal to any similar size program.
- To attain national prominence for academic and athletic achievement.
- To maintain Penn State's traditional standards of institutional control.
- To offer numerous and varied club, intramural sports and recreational
programs that cover student interest and afford maximum participation by Penn
State students.
- To encourage student-athletes, coaches and administrators to engage in
meaningful community service activities in an effort to create an environment
where the synergy between the University and the public that is both healthy and
productive.
- To operate the athletic program in a fiscally-sound fashion, managing
resources in a manner that will produce the most beneficial yield for the
student-athletes, coaches and staff being served by Intercollegiate Athletics.
- To continue the process of creating a culturally diverse staff that reflects
the student-athlete population and responds to the ethnic make-up of the
University and the surrounding community.
- To address in a conscientious fashion the concerns expressed by employees of
Intercollegiate Athletics in the University-sponsored 1996 Faculty/Staff Survey
and to create a more harmonious internal relationship in the workplace.
- To field an athletic program that is representative of the University, its
student body and its Alumni worldwide and one that competes on an annual basis
for the Sears Directors Cup, representative of all-sports supremacy in
intercollegiate
athletics.
