May 5, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; May 5, 2008 - Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, basketball coach Ed DeChellis and baseball coach Robbie Wine will headline the Central Pennsylvania Nittany Lion Club Dinner on Saturday, June 7 in Camp Hill.
Joe Battista, Executive Director of the Nittany Lion Club, also will attend, along with the possibility of other coaches.
The event will be held in the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel & Convention Center in Camp Hill. The reception is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by the dinner and program at 6:15 p.m. There will be a silent auction and raffle to support Penn State scholarships.
The event is sponsored by the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the Nittany Lion Club.
Reservations are required and tickets are $35.00. Anyone interested in attending the event should contact Jim Smeltzer at 717-761-0211 during business hours. The deadline for reservations is May 23.
Paterno is entering his 43rd season as head coach. The Hall of Fame mentor has earned a 372-125-3 record to rank second in career wins among major college coaches. The only coach ever to win the Rose, Sugar, Orange, Cotton and Fiesta Bowls, he has led the Nittany Lions to five undefeated, untied seasons, two national championships and 23 bowl victories. Paterno has coached 74 first team All-Americans, including linebacker Dan Connor in 2007, and 36 Academic All-Americans, including junior tackle Gerald Cadogan last season.
DeChellis is entering his sixth season as head coach of the Nittany Lions. Penn State will return seven players that started 12 or more games and averaged more than 14 minutes per game this past season, including team Co-MVPs Talor Battle (10.2 ppg) and Jamelle Cornley (12.1 ppg). The Lions return their top two leading scorers, and five of their top six, four of their top five rebounders, their assist leader and top four in assists. DeChellis' team also will welcome three freshmen and one transfer for the 2008-09 campaign.
The Nittany Lions won seven Big Ten games this past season, their most since the 2000-01 season, and won their last five conference home games, with victories over nationally ranked Michigan State and Indiana, as well as Illinois, Iowa and Michigan.
Wine is in his fourth season overseeing the Nittany Lion baseball program. He guided Penn State to a record-breaking season in 2007, the program's first in the spectacular Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Penn State had one of the nation's biggest improvements, posting an overall record of 31-26, a 10.5 game improvement from 2006. The Nittany Lions set a school record with 20 Big Ten wins, finished in a tie for second place in the conference standings and finished third at the Big Ten Tournament. Wine's current edition will look to solidify its conference tournament seeding this weekend, hosting Iowa in the final home series of the season.