Sept. 11, 2008

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Nittany Lion Club members contributed more than $50 million in grant-in-aid support for Penn State's 800-plus student-athletes during the recently completed "Success with Honor -- A Campaign for the Penn State Way" effort that produced a total of $130,856,484 in private support for Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics.

The five-year campaign -- the first-ever comprehensive fundraising initiative for Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics -- provided necessary support in many areas for the athletic program. The campaign officially concluded on June 30, 2008.

"We greatly appreciate the hard work and efforts of the campaign committee, led by campaign chairman Dave Joyner, the Athletic Development staff and the support received from the private sector to ensure that Penn State Athletics continues to move forward in pursuit of our many goals and initiatives," said Tim Curley, Director of Athletics. "The support from the campaign has enabled us to make significant progress in improving our athletic and academic facilities and provided many endowed scholarships, areas that are critical in helping us continue to attract the highest quality student-athletes."

"We surpassed the goal of $100 million thanks to the generous support of our alumni and friends," said Ken Cutler, Director of Development for Athletics. "We sincerely thank all those people who supported the campaign in any way they could."

Along with key support for scholarships, with 151 endowed athletic scholarships created during the five-year period, the campaign also produced more than $3 million as part of a women's athletic fundraising initiative and nearly $3 million for support of athletic sports medicine. Over half of that money was raised to enhance and renovate the offices of Penn State Sports Medicine and the rest established 13 new program endowments to help provide the best medical care possible for student-athletes and the citizens of Centre County.

"We have additional on-going needs and objectives in our pursuit of athletic and academic excellence and will continue to count on the loyal and passionate Penn State alumni and fans to help provide our student-athletes the best opportunity to achieve their goals and dreams," Curley added.

"We were able to address many areas, make improvements and prepare for the future," Cutler said. "We still have many under-funded priorities and on-going needs, but the campaign clearly made an important impact."

On-going needs remain, in part, because operational costs continue to escalate. For example, expenses for Intercollegiate Athletics have increased 113 percent in the past decade -- from $36.8 million in 1997-98 to $78.5 million for 2007-08.

Because Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics remains a self-sustaining operation -- without any tax dollars or tuition monies for support -- campaigns and on-going giving from Nittany Lion Club members provide important support. And, although one campaign has ended, the next, the "For the Future" effort, has started.

The largest gift for the "Success with Honor" campaign was $5 million and established the Malloy/ Paterno Head Football Coach Endowment, thanks to the generosity of Patrick and Candace Malloy. In addition, facilities were a point of emphasis and the University's inventory of athletic venues grew thanks to the addition of Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, home of the varsity baseball team; completed construction on the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex in Rec Hall; and initial support and work for the varsity golf clubhouse, which will provide a much-needed home for the men's and women's golf teams.

The campaign also provided significant support for the Morgan Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes, including an endowment for the first-year enrichment program and an endowment for the director of the center.

For more information on gift opportunities in support of Penn State Athletics, please call Ken Cutler at 814-863-GIFT.