UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State has been selected to host four national or regional championship events as the NCAA announced site selections from 2026-28 on Wednesday, October 2. Two national championships will be contested in Happy Valley venues with the 2028 National Collegiate Men's and Women's Fencing Championships and the 2028 National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championships.
The championship events Penn State has been selected to host in 2026-28 are:
- 2027 Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Regional
- 2028 Division I Men's Ice Hockey Regional (Allentown)
- 2028 National Collegiate Men's and Women's Fencing Championships
- 2028 National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championships
2028 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships Return to Rec Hall
Penn State will host the National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championships at Rec Hall in 2028. This will be the 10th time the Nittany Lions have hosted which is the most of any venue in the nation. The Nittany Lions, whose 12 NCAA titles are tied for most by any Division I program, won NCAA titles at their home venue in 1960 and 2007. Penn State has hosted the championships in (1960, 1965, 1974, 1983, 1991, 1998, 2007, 2013, 2023).
2028 Fencing Championships Awarded to Penn State
Penn State was awarded the opportunity to host the 2028 National Collegiate Fencing Championships. The 2028 event will mark the sixth time Penn State has hosted the national tournament (2018, 2009, 1991, 2021, 2025). The Penn State Nittany Lion fencing team has won 13 combined NCAA Championships since 1985 and had nine second-place finishes. A total of 23 Penn Staters have won a combined 33 national titles.
2027 Cross Country Regionals Return to Penn State
Penn State will host the NCAA Cross Country Regionals at the Penn State Golf Courses in 2027. The Nittany Lions are hosting the Cross Country Regionals in 2024. The men's cross country team has won the NCAA Cross Country championships three times while the women's team has finished as high as sixth. The Nittany Lions have made the NCAA Cross Country championships 24 times on the women's team and 39 times for the men's team.
2028 Men’s Hockey Regionals Set for PPL Center in Allentown
Penn State will serve as the host institution for the 2028 NCAA Hockey Regionals to be played at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In partnership with the PPL Center, Penn State hosted the 2018, 2019, 2023 regionals and were set to host the 2020 Allentown Regional Midwest regionals, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Penn State will host the 2025 regional in Allentown.
The PPL Center opened in September 2014 and is the home of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League. The facility has a hockey capacity of 8,420, with a standing room capacity of more than 9,000.