June 3, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour was the keynote speaker at today's Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County (CBICC) membership breakfast. The event was held at Hoag's Catering/Celebration Hall in State College.
Approaching 10 months in directing Penn State's 31-sport athletic program, Barbour spoke about numerous topics relating to the Nittany Lions and the landscape of intercollegiate athletics. Of particular interest to the audience was Barbour's early impressions of the town and gown relationship in State College.
"The athletic department, university and community are so intertwined here," Barbour said. "That's something that is valuable and powerful. In my nine months here, I have seen the gratitude, passion and connectedness that exists in this community and among Penn Staters."
The primary driving force for Barbour and the Intercollegiate Athletics staff is creating conditions for success, academically and athletically, for Penn State's 800 student-athletes, with education at the forefront on a daily basis.
"It's not a four-year decision; it's a 40-year decision," Barbour said on Penn State's educational commitment to its students. "We want to provide a world-class student-athlete experience. That's our `Why.'
Barbour also talked about intercollegiate athletics being the "front porch" to a college or university. Penn State's 31 programs draw hundreds of thousands of fans to Centre County annually to watch the Nittany Lions compete.
A 2009 economic impact report conducted by Tripp Umbach, a Pittsburgh-based research firm, revealed that Penn State football had an annual direct business volume impact of $50 million to Centre County, with a total business volume impact of $90 million to the county. The football program's total business volume impact to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was $161 million, according to the report.
Barbour directs one of the nation's most comprehensive and successful athletic programs that boasts an NCAA Graduation Success Rate of 89 percent, 74 national championships and 92 Big Ten titles all-time. Twenty Penn State teams have competed in their respective NCAA Championships in 2014-15, in addition to the football team winning the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, and 30 teams have participated in post-season competition this year.
Penn State is ranked No. 3 in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings entering the final month of 2014-15. The Nittany Lions won the 2014 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship and earned Big Ten titles in men's gymnastics, women's lacrosse and women's soccer this year. In addition, three Penn State student-athletes have won individual NCAA Championships, with the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships set for June 10-13.