Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1516624
M A R C H 2 0 2 4 15 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M By The Numbers 2 Consecutive victories by the Penn State men's volleyball team over No. 1 Ohio State. The ninth-ranked Nittany Lions stunned the Buckeyes, 3-1, in Columbus on Jan. 25, then proved three nights later that their performance was no fluke, prevailing 3-2 at Rec Hall to sweep the home-and- home nonconference series. The first of those two victories, at Ohio State's Covelli Cen- ter, made this the second consecutive season in which PSU has toppled a No. 1-ranked opponent on its home court. Last year, the Lions upset Hawai'i, 3-1, in Honolulu. 9 . 5 The Penn State football team's win total for the 2024 season, as projected by FanDuel. The only Big Ten teams with double-digit win totals on the betting site are Oregon and Ohio State at 10.5 victories apiece. Fan Duel also gives the Nittany Lions 25-to-1 odds of winning the College Football Playoff. 12 Verbal commitments for the Penn State football team's 2025 cycle following the addition of four-star receiver Lyrick Samuel on Feb. 19. The Nittany Lions' dozen pledges were the second-most in the country at that time, topped only by Notre Dame's 17 commitments. Penn State was 13th in the On3 Industry Team Ranking following Samuel's commitment. 23rd Penn State's spot in Bill Connelly's returning-production rankings for the 2024 football season. The ESPN analyst calculates that PSU will bring back 70 percent of its total of- fensive and defensive production from the 2023 season, a fig- ure that is bolstered by the return of the Lions' leading passer (junior Drew Allar), leading rushers (juniors KAYTRON ALLEN and Nicholas Singleton), leading receiver (senior Ke- Andre Lambert-Smith) and top three tacklers (safety Kevin Winston Jr., middle linebacker Kobe King and outside line- backer turned defensive end Abdul Carter, all juniors). Virginia Tech leads Connelly's rankings, with 86 percent of its production returning this fall. 1 , 0 0 2 All-time dual meet victories by the Penn State wrestling team since the program's inception in 1909. The Nittany Lions reached the 1,000-win plateau by defeating Rutgers, 35-3, on Feb. 12 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Following their 55-0 victory over visiting Ed- inboro on Feb. 25, the Lions were 1,002-303-37 all time. Their current dual meet win streak stands at 56, with their most recent loss coming at Iowa, 19-17, on Jan. 31, 2019. Coach Cael Sanderson also reached a personal milestone re- cently, picking up his 200th coaching win at Penn State when his team beat third-ranked Iowa, 29-6, on Feb. 9 at Carver- Hawkeye Arena. In 18 seasons as a head coach, including three at Iowa State, Sanderson is 247-26-2. 2 , 1 0 0 Career points for super senior guard Makenna Marisa through the Penn State women's basketball team's first 26 games. One of only three active players in the Big Ten with more than 2,000 points — Iowa's Caitlin Clark and Indiana's Mackenzie Holmes are the others — Marisa ranked fifth in Penn State history in career scoring, trailing Teniya Page (2,108 points from 2015-19), Susan Robinson (2,253 from 1988-92), Maggie Lucas (2,510 from 2010-14) and Kelly Mazzante (2,919 from 2000-04). $ 2 0 2 . 2 m i l l i o n Penn State's total athletics revenue for the 2022-23 fiscal year, which ended June 30. That's the highest total in school history and a $21 million increase over the previous year, according to the athletics department's re- cently released annual fiscal report. However, Penn State also saw its expenses rise by $31.5 million. Those surging costs resulted in a $126,000 shortfall for the year. Despite losing money during the most recent fiscal year, Penn State's balance sheet has been steadily improving since the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered the nation's athletics ven- ues in 2020. PSU reported losses of $10.6 million in 2021-22 and $24 million in 2020-21. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL