April 18, 2016 UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.ââ'¬" Penn State Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour spoke about several priorities and answered questions at today's Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) Mid-Atlantic Region meeting. Approximately 35 sports editors and reporters attended the day long meeting at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel.
Director of the Penn State's 31-sport athletic program since August 2014, Barbour spoke about numerous topics relating to the Nittany Lions and the landscape of intercollegiate athletics.
Barbour highlighted three priorities among the many that exist: 1) student-athlete experience; 2) student-athlete development and 3) financial stability.
"We are expanding our career development unit and will be doing more in the areas of mental health and financial literacy, amongst other student development initiatives," stated Barbour, who was selected by Forbes last December as one of the Top 25 Most Powerful People in College Sports.
Time demands and ensuring that Penn State student-athletes are able to engage in all the academic opportunities that are available on campus also are among student-athlete development priorities.
"We are also looking into trying to endow each of our 31 programs with an international opportunity every four years," Barbour added. This past November, the Penn State baseball team traveled to Cuba for a week long educational experience that included three games and field hockey, women's lacrosse and men's soccer will undertake foreign trips this spring and summer.
When asked about the first year of student-athlete cost of attendance, Barbour said cost of attendance and the creation of fueling/nutrition stations in athletic facilities have added approximately $2.5 million to the Intercollegiate Athletics budget.
Related to student experience, Barbour also spoke about the impact of the on-going facilities master planning study, which will provide a roadmap for Penn State Athletics facilities needs for the next 15-20 years.
"We are trying to create resources to do all the things we want to do," she said. "The facilities master plan is going really well and by late summer we should have some initial feedback."
Barbour said among the questions the Athletics staff is asking, 'Where are our gaps? What are our needs from a student experience standpoint, what do our fans find value in and what motivates them to come to an event on campus?'"
One of the nation's most respected athletic directors, Barbour also provided an update on Beaver Stadium as it relates to the facilities master planning study.
"It's very clear to me from our (facilities master plan) analysis, that a renovation (of Beaver Stadium) is the direction we're heading in."
This past weekend, Penn State's annual Blue-White Weekend was held. In addition to an estimated 65,000 fans attending the Blue-White football game, the Penn State softball (1,146) and men's lacrosse (2,708) teams also set program or facility attendance records.
"Saturday was a great, great example of the Penn State community coming together," Barbour said. "(Blue-White) is a great example of Athletics serving as a conduit for our Penn State family connectedness.
"I am very excited about where we are going," Barbour added about the football program. "James Franklin and his staff are doing a great job in recruiting, the classroom and community engagement."
Barbour directs one of the nation's most comprehensive and successful athletic programs that boasts an NCAA Graduation Success Rate of 88 percent, 76 national championships and 97 Big Ten titles all-time. During the 2015 fall semester, a school record 516 Penn State student-athletes earned at least a 3.0 grade-point average.
Penn State is ranked No. 10 in the Learfield Directors' Cup standings entering the final two months of the 2015-16 competition schedule. The Nittany Lions have won the NCAA Championships in women's soccer and wrestling this year and five Big Ten titles in women's cross country, women's soccer and wrestling.