My Personal Blog

On Wednesday morning, PA state representative Charity Krupa of Fayette County harshly grilled the president of Penn State University in a House Appropriations Committee Hearing on state-related universities in Harrisburg.  Rep. Krupa took a shot at the university president for being a hypocrite by turning her back on seven branch campuses while at the same time asking for a total of $394.4 million in funding.  Krupa specifically mentioned that the university also approved $1 billion in discretionary spending (including $700 million earmarked for the ongoing renovation of Beaver Stadium, $50 million to buy out James Franklin's contract, and a $1.4 million raise in the president's salary). Krupa asked why taxpayers are being asked to pay more while there is no more money to keep seven branch campuses open (including Shenango) without transparency with the public and accountability.  She pointed out that her proposed legislation would require advance notice given to the comm...

Penn State basketball has a passionate fan base, bur for too long, the men's and women's programs haven't contributed points to the Learfield Directors' Cup like other sports do. Programs like wrestling, women's volleyball, men's and women's ice hockey and lacrosse, and football consistently carry the Cup totals.  In contrast, basketball currently contributes zero points, leaving a major gap compared with schools like Duke, UNC and Stanford. Imagine just one Sweet 16 run adding between approximately 60 to 80 points, an Elite 8 run adding 100 to 120 points, and a Final Four run that could earn 140 to 160 or more points, which would be enough to shift Penn State several spots in the Cup standings. In the Learfield Directors' Cup, each school must include at least 12 countable men's sports and at least 12 countable women's sports.  At least 4 men's sports and at least 4 women's sports must be team sports.  These are common examples of mandat...