Penn State: 15 Years In
It seems like only yesterday when Columbus served as the Eastern tip of the conference footprint and the Big Ten had a, you know, logo that matched its name. It’s hard to believe, but it’s been nearly 20 years since Big Ten presidents floated the concept of adding Penn State as the conference’s 11th member. The Nittany Lions now have 15 seasons of Big Ten football under their belts and some fans won’t even remember a time when the conference didn’t stretch to State College.
You know what they say about guys with big hands…When the Big Ten announced the integration of Penn State in December of 1989, it sent shockwaves through the college football landscape. The Lions were only three years removed from the magic of their 1986 championship over Miami and had seen the culmination of a decade’s worth of back-channel talks between the school and the conference finally come to fruition.
Penn State would be giving up part of their bowl revenue as it would be entering into the conference’s bowl revenue-sharing program, but that loss was mitigated by the revenue-sharing from men’s basketball, which the Big Ten was doing pretty damn well in 1989 and access to academic resources such as grants and an integrated library system. The Big Ten, for its part, would have a shot at adding the 5.3m television households in the state of Pennsylvania to the 17.8m in its pre-expansion footprint as well as more exposure on the East Coast.
Despite Joe Paterno and every other official at Penn State saying all of the right things, the courtship did have its rocky spots. Just 17 weeks after the announcement was made, the conference started to back-track a little. Member school athletic departments had largely been blindsided by the announcement — Bo Schembechler claimed at the time that the move “confirms the worst fear I have of presidents’ getting too much control in athletics. Not one athletic director was consulted on this matter. How can they do that?” His counterpart at Ohio State, Jim Jones, found out about the invitation from the press. To his credit, he was a strong proponent of the expansion. Others, like Minnesota athletic director Rick Bay and Purdue athletic director George King were pretty vocal in their opposition to the move.
The deal was finalized in June of 1990, but not before some classic one-liners were dropped. Bob Knight went on record as saying "Penn State ’s a camping trip. There’s nothing for about 100 miles," while Joe Paterno, still a sprite 62 at the time, had the tenacity to say that he might postpone retirement in order to coach the Nittany Lions in the Big Ten.
Then there was the sweetheart bowl deal Penn State signed in 1992. A year before officially joining the conference, the school was left in limbo by the newly created Bowl Coalition. Six major conferences and Notre Dame had put together a plan to attempt to pit the top two poll teams in a bowl. Only the Big Ten and Pac-10 had abstained. Penn State, without a conference or any real clout due to the fact that they’d soon be in a conference, negotiated a deal to play in the 1993 Blockbuster Bowl months before the 1992 season had even begun. Fittingly, the Lions started the season 5-0 before tailspinning to losses in five of their last seven games including a 24-3 loss to Stanford in said, agreed-on months in advance, Blockbuster Bowl.
When Penn State finally did get around to playing Big Ten football, they started with a bang. In 1993, they went 10-2 and returned most of the talent on that team to post a 12-0 record in 1994, a year that sticks with me because of the 63 points hung on the Buckeyes in Happy Valley. That 1994 Penn State squad was one of the finest Big Ten teams I have ever seen — even to this day.
| Years | Overall | Conference | Bowls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 - 1992 | 135-43-2 (.754) | – | 8-5 (.615) |
| 1993 - 2007 | 125-58 (.683) | 73-47 (.608) | 9-2 (.818) |
The next five seasons would see Penn State notch 9, 11, 9, 9 and 10 wins. Seven seasons, 70 wins. Not a bad start at all. But the next five seasons, from 2000 to 2004, would see Joe Pa’s squad post a grand total of 26 victories — an average of a little over five a season. In 2003 and 2004, he would only lead his team to a combined total of three conference victories.
In fact, the trouble he suffered during the first handful of seasons after the turn of the century have gone a long way towards putting him almost a dozen victories behind the pace he set in the 15 years prior to Penn State joining the Big Ten. What’s even more startling is that Paterno is winning at just a .608 clip in conference games. Compare that to Lloyd Carr’s .779 Big Ten winning percentage (81-23 over 12 seasons). Would you believe that Northwestern (3) has more conference championships than Penn State (2) since the Lions joined the conference? If you toss out 1994, the Lions have only finished atop the conference standings once in the past 13 seasons.
Though Penn State has had some Big Ten football success, there are many reasons why maybe it hasn’t enjoyed the type of success that was anticipated (and nicely highlighted the first couple of years in conference). Obviously Paterno’s age is a huge one. The fact that in 1990 he was dropping hints that he may postpone his retirement to coach in conference tells you all you really need to know about that, really. The rise of the Big East — granted, it’s no SEC, but it didn’t even exist 15 years ago — has probably had some impact on Penn State’s eastern recruiting efforts. There was a time when they owned New Jersey and Maryland, but not anymore.
Overall, I think it’s a no-brainer that it was a great move by the conference. The latest Director’s Cup standings (PDF) certainly validate their admission. The addition also gave birth to the rise of super-conferences, which I think the game is better for. Not long after Penn State agreed to come onboard, two of the other big independents, Miami and Florida State, quickly joined conferences of their own. But what about what was best for Penn State? Did they make the right move?
18 Responses
Great post. Not alot of people realized the impact when the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten, not only on the Big Ten (which hasn’t admitted a member in eons), but on the rest of the college landscape into the realigned mega conferences we see today. Had the move not been made, we might be still looking at independent Pittsburgh, and Miami.
But wins and losses in football aside, the move was great for both Penn State and the Big Ten. Less annual scheduling headaches, great competition in the multiple other sports Penn State participates in, and the revenue sharing program all outweigh the multiple injustices Penn State has suffered on the gridiron.
But a great post, to this day, it is clear the Big Ten and Penn State made the right decision.
NittanyWhiteOut.com - June 30th, 2008 at 11:55 am - #
Great Line By coach Knight….. he usually hits the nail right on the head… I L O V E Penn State being in the conference….. great fans….
Mitch G. - June 30th, 2008 at 12:11 pm - #
Thanks! I can remember how geeked I was when I heard that PSU would be joining the conference. Like your post illustrates, I’d say it’s worked out really well. And the Lions are a good fit from a cultural and academic standpoint as well.
Jason - June 30th, 2008 at 1:21 pm - #
NITTANYWHITEOUT…can I ask why you feel the need to put down tOSU in your column about the Directors Cup? How many people have acutally heard of the Directors Cup? How are points earned? Why does a #3 finish in one sport get 25 pts but in another get 83 and another 85?
How come you weren’t so arrogant the past 7 years when tOSU had higher rankings? You have to go all they way to the last century to find a year when PSU finished higher than tOSU. Over the past 10 years tOSU’s average finish is 10.5……PSU’s….12.4. Doesn’t look to me that the conference needs you as much as YOU need the conference.
I can remember the boasting of PSU fans, of which you were one I am sure, when they joined the conference and had early success in football. You thought you’d be able to run through the conference year after year and play in the Rose Bowl every year. However, it soon became apparent that even the bottom feeder teams in the conference were a little tougher than the Rutgers and Temple teams they were used to beating up on.
Pound your chest all you want about the Directors Cup (for this year anyway), we’ll pound ours about the sports people know and car about.
TLB - June 30th, 2008 at 4:34 pm - #
“won’t even remember a time when the conference didn’t stretch to State College.”
I think you meant “didn’t stench of State College”.
Seriously, I hate the Nittany Lions.
Poe McKnoe - June 30th, 2008 at 6:22 pm - #
As a Michigan fan, I was apprehensive of PSU joining the Big 2, Little 8, but I think it worked out quite nicely. I only wish Penn St would get the cajones and move their “club” hockey team up to varsity and join either the CCHA or CHA….
BT C - June 30th, 2008 at 9:55 pm - #
Thanks for stopping by, BT. As a pretty huge hockey fan, myself, I’d love to see all 11 field teams and a Big Ten hockey conference.
Can you imagine a conference with Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Minnesota (and a decent Buckeye team every five years or so)?
Jason - June 30th, 2008 at 10:31 pm - #
Great move for the PSU (the school) and for the olympic sports: the academic level has come up, the facilities (from library, to airport and recreational) are all far above what they had previously been.
It’s been tough for football, but that’s a combination of not having the patsies of what is now the Big East / dregs of the ACC to run over and Paterno’s clinging to power while running talent (Ganter, Sandusky, etc.) out of the program while retaining Jay. That will shake out eventually.
I liked your comment about the dawning of the age of super-conferences… which reminds me that the Big 10 probably needs 1 to 3 more schools.
Ultimately, I think Pitt will be one of them: Research/graduate focused, could use the improvement in its academic standing, good tradition, natural rivalry fit for PSU then all major conference D-1 football teams (temple you dont count) in PA would be big 10 - securing the TV market (yes a Pitt game preempted Michigan - OSU in Pittsburgh last year….). Great add for basketball too. Plus Chancellor Nordenburg of Pitt is a Wisconsin guy nearing retirement - this might be his grand finale.
As to the others, if any - Rutgers is another large state university that would be a nice add for television purposes.
Syracuse would be good for hoops and TV, but its more the Northwestern mold - not a great fit, perhaps. Nebraska and Texas keep popping up - but the geography of that is daunting. Perhaps Missouri, but that’s kind of meh.
And forget ND - if they didnt do it in 1999, they won’t ever. Ignoring the football independence and assuming equal or greater revenue in the big 10, the cultural differences (catholic vs. secular; private vs. public; undergrad vs. grad/research, etc.) are too great for ND to ever fit in academically. For all the reasons PSU was a great fit academically, ND would likely be a bad fit.
Plus, they can already go 3-9 playing their current schedule. :-)
Cock D - July 1st, 2008 at 8:13 am - #
Back in the day, I worked out with a guy who was a strength and conditioning coach for the p*nn st*t* football team (he was an assistant, not the head guy). We were talking in the gym one day, after lifting, and we discussed the merger. He told me that Paterno said in a coaches’ meeting that p*nn st*t* would either dominate the league, or become an also-ran. He (Paterno) thought they had three years to win a national title before the crux would come, and the league got familiar with his program.
Looks like the latter has been the case. I think it’s devastated their recruiting. Both Ohio State and m*ch*g*n are routinely dipping in Pennsylvania, while simultaneously keeping p*nn st*t* from delving into their own backyards, and the rise of the Big Least is really hurting them in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and New Jersey.
Joe Fox - July 1st, 2008 at 10:33 am - #
Since when is PSU hurting in Maryland recruiting? Last I checked Larry Johnson is an incredible recruiting down there. Jersey, thats a difference story, and so is PA. I think it should be changed to PA and NJ are no longer solid PSU breeding grounds.
Mark - July 1st, 2008 at 1:25 pm - #
Poe McKnoe, you’re a dbag.
notch - July 1st, 2008 at 2:14 pm - #
It was a great move for PSU sports except football & basketball. Mainly because Joe Paterno has chosen to be stubborn and play a bland of football that no longer works and to hire his son on top of it. Penn State football has been a joke in the Big Ten and OSU and UM should be thrilled that PSU joined. PSU has brought a TV market, cache of tradition and a huge fan base for OSU and UM to beat up on all the time. Until Joe changes his stubborn ways or retires PSU will continue to be the whipping boy of OSU and UM while maintaining a high level of mediocrity.
Brian - July 1st, 2008 at 2:33 pm - #
Penn st is cleaning up in maryland. Only because they have to. Ohio State is getting the top guys from pa. (brown, Bell, and Pryor). If you combined the talent of pa. and ohio you have one hell of a football team. No more excuses for coach tressel he must get a crystal ball in the next 4 years. This year looks good but so do the next 4. We have speed at every position on offense. Defensively we have bulked up on the back seven as always, but the difference will be our defensive ends. I love Wells the freshman from ga. and Hayward only a soph.
Woody - July 1st, 2008 at 2:37 pm - #
Granted, I’m new to recruiting trends, but hasn’t Penn State usually done well in recruiting Maryland prepsters? My understanding was they’ve been able to target and poach the Free State with relative ease, and have been able to do so for years. For all intents and purposes, in that area, they would have to be the biggest draw (against: Maryland, WVU, Rutgers, Va Tech, whoever else). Even with Penn State being a usual 8-4/9-3 team for the most part and with the “rise” of the Big East teams, I don’t see where there hurting in Maryland. If anything, the Terrapins might suffer, but not Penn State.
Of course, my experience with Maryland is limited to Ocean City, but there were Lions fans everywhere in Maryland. I couldn’t wear my 2004 Fiesta Bowl t-shirt there without (unwittingly) getting into an argument with some drunk chicks who doubled as Penn State students/fans.
vico - July 1st, 2008 at 3:02 pm - #
I was a senior at PSU in 1989 when the deal was announced and most students did not like the idea of joining a conference at all. Everyone liked the independent status and playing for National Titles, not conference titles.
Most PSU fans really didn’t like the conference after going undefeated in 1994 and not getting a national championship. The supposedly “tough” Big 10 had not seen an undefeated team since 1968 and many said there might never be an undefeated team in the B10 again with PSU joining the conference. Unfortunately most of the mid-western sportswriters left PSU out in the cold (when it came to voting for a national champion) and many Nittany Lion fans will never forget that. Since then OSU and Michigan both go undefeated and win titles. How about that?
But since then scholorship limits and the elimination of several conferences and independants have changed the landscape of college football. Maybe if PSU had not joined the B10 the other dominos may not have fallen as they had. But if the conference alignments would have happened anyway, PSU would have struggled to remain an independant and probably would have ended up in the Big East or ACC. From that standpoint, the B10 seems to be a much better fit. In football Penn State has definitely seen its ups and downs (great first five years, poor second five years, about average last five years). But revenue sharing and big football home game draws have helped support a great overall sports program and improving facilities. I’m a huge JoePa fan, but when he’s gone Penn State will have a very good chance to play with the big 2 like they did in the mid-’90’s. So overall, 15 years down the road, I am now sold on the B10 conference - and yes would like to see further expansion for the right team(s).
JoePa - July 1st, 2008 at 3:32 pm - #
Penn State coming into the conference was a mistake. All the guaranteed wins against weak opponents have been replaced by tough games against Michigan, Michigan State, the university of ohio state, Indiana, etc.
They also opened the door to western Pennsylvania for the rest of the league to recruit. You have some of the best fans I’ve ever seen, but your exposure to the Buckeye fans nasty behavior is having its effect on you. Stay clasasy, Penn State. Don’t give in to the dark side!
Spartyon - July 2nd, 2008 at 10:21 am - #
Spartyon, the classest thing about your program is your head coach, and he is and always will be a Buckeye! Focus on beating your older brother and finishing above 5th in the conference before coming onto an Ohio State blog and talking shit.
Tyler - July 2nd, 2008 at 12:41 pm - #
Actually the first five years(with the exception of 94) Penn State did not even do that great in the conference. They only won it in 94 and in the other years they usually struggled to come in third place. They did excell however in non conference and bowls, they only lost one non big ten game out of first 25 or so games. So while the overall record in first five years was very good. The Big ten record wasnt that great. Just one first place finish and mostly third place.
Mazurek - August 12th, 2008 at 11:48 pm - #
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