Blue White Illustrated

Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics re- cently filed its 2014-15 NCAA Annual Financial Report, which showed contin- ued efforts to contain rising expenses and re- main a self-supporting unit. Revenues in the 2015 fiscal year continued to increase after stabi- lizing in 2014. Among the areas resulting in higher revenues were ticket sales, concessions and parking, increases in Nittany Lion Club contributions and overall gifts, the re- instatement of Penn State's bowl rev- enue share from the Big Ten Confer- ence, and increases in Big Ten disburse- ments. In addition, Penn State was able to increase its compensation from cor- porate partnerships while also renego- tiating agreements with Nike and Learfield Sports. The 2014-15 fiscal year also saw an in- crease in expenses, including coaching, administrative and support staff com- pensation, team travel – due primarily to the football team's 2014 game in Ire- land – and the costs associated with home game operations, including secu- rity measures and staffing. Additional expenses included the initial debt serv- ice payments on facility projects, in- cluding two new Beaver Stadium videoboards, the university's short- term $30 million loan to Intercollegiate Athletics ($20 million received through fiscal year 2015) and the 2012 NCAA fine. Penn State also saw increased costs in the daily operations of its 31-sport pro- gram, which has won six NCAA champi- onships and a conference-best 23 Big Ten titles since the start of the 2012-13 academic year. The net revenues and expenses result- ed in Penn State Athletics finishing fis- cal year 2015 with a positive balance of approximately $3.45 million. "Penn State Athletics continues to be a healthy, self-supporting unit, bol- stered by several new and increasing revenue streams during fiscal 2015, Allen Robinson's leaping 36-yard catch against Michigan in 2013 is des- tined to live on forever in the hearts and minds of Penn State football fans, hav- ing set up one of the great comeback victories in Nittany Lion history. And now it will also live on forever on Robin- son himself. The former Nittany Lion All-American, now a Pro Bowl receiver with the Jacksonville Jaguars, recently had an image of the catch tattooed on his torso. "That was probably the most memo- rable thing from Penn State for me," Robinson told NBC Sports Radio in Feb- ruary. "I have my high school tatted. … Next was Penn State, and that [play] was the most memorable thing." Robinson said that on a scale of one to 10, the pain he experienced while getting his catch inked up was "about a six or seven." That's partly due to the fact that the tattoo features not just him, but also Wolverines defensive back Channing Stribling. "I wouldn't say I'm used to the feeling, but I had gotten one a couple of weeks ago, and I like to get them back to back," Robinson said. "I know that if you lose the feeling and go too long [between tattoos] it will start to get pretty painful." The tattoo caused Stribling some pain, too. He and Robinson en- gaged in a brief skirmish after Robinson posted a picture of his new ink on Twit- ter. "If I'm in the league, my focus is on ballin, not on a tatt," tweeted Stribling, who will be a senior with the Wolverines this coming fall. "Some people just ain't built for the league." Robinson tried to end the exchange with a one-word tweet: "Aloha." That was a reference to the Pro Bowl, in which he caught two passes for 105 yards. Robinson got to Honolulu in only his second season after catching 80 passes for a league-best 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns. So he does, in fact, appear to be built for the league. With that in mind, he's apparently saving some space for a tattoo from his already impressive NFL career. Said Robinson, "I've still got a decent amount of canvas left." FOOTBALL THE ILLUSTRATED MAN Robinson commemorates most memorable moment with tattoo ADMINISTRATION Athletic department remains self-sufficient in 2015 BARBOUR SKIN IN THE GAME Robinson showed off his new tattoo on Twitter, provok- ing a response from Michigan's Stribling.

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