Blue White Illustrated

easy drive distance to College Park and New Brunswick. The schools are right in the heart of where a lot of Penn State graduates live." While Rutgers and Maryland were, as of this writing, the only schools to announce their move to the Big Ten, there are indications that the conference isn't done growing. Georgia Tech is said to be one of the league's first options, a move that would further erode the ACC. Other schools that have been cited as potential Big Ten members include North Carolina State, Boston College and Syracuse. Those schools would bring new and heavily populated states into the league's orbit, maximizing exposure and enhancing TV revenue. There had been speculation that the Big Ten might pursue North Carolina in hope of capturing the Charlotte television market, but athletic director Bubba Cunningham said the school "is a charter member" of the ACC, adding that speculation "on what other league may be better for the Tar Heels would not be productive." FOOTBALL Penn State, Pitt opt to extend series They won't count as conference games (unless Jim Delany has something else up his sleeve), but Penn State has extended its series against another former Eastern Independent rival. The Nittany Lions will now face Pittsburgh in 2018 and 2019, having added a couple of games to the twogame series to which the programs had already agreed. Dave Joyner, Penn State's acting athletic director, and Pitt AD Steve Pederson, announced that the longtime rivals will meet every season from 2016-19. The Nittany Lions will visit Pittsburgh on Sept. 8, 2018, and the Panthers will visit Beaver Stadium on Sept. 14, 2019. In June 2011, the schools announced plans to meet Sept.10, 2016, in Pittsburgh and Sept. 16, 2017, in University Park. The teams last met in 2000. "We are thrilled to have the University of Pittsburgh back on the schedule for several consecutive years," coach Bill O'Brien said. "Regional rivalries in college football are special. I have been involved in a few as a coach. Penn State vs. Pitt is a rivalry rich with history and tradition. We have a great deal of respect for Paul Chryst and the Pitt Panther football program and we are looking forward to competing against them on the gridiron." The Nittany Lions have met the Panthers more than any other opponent – 96 times – with Penn State owning a 48-42-4 series advantage. N O T I C E T O FOOTBALL Standout DT Hill to play in Senior Bowl Defensive tackle Jordan Hill has accepted an invitation to play in the 64th Senior Bowl on Jan. 26. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. The NFL Network will televise the contest. Hill will be the 19th Lion to play in the Senior Bowl in the past nine years. Defensive end Jack Crawford, cornerback D'Anton Lynn and guard Johnnie Troutman played in last year's game. S U B S C R I B E R S More newsletters coming in off-season The 2012 football season is in the rearview mirror, and Blue White Illustrated will no longer be distributing weekly newsletters during the off-season. But we will continue to bring subscribers the comprehensive Penn State sports coverage that you've come to expect. In addition to our monthly print publication that is delivered to you by mail, you will also receive at least one 10- to 12-page newsletter per month via email. They will all be archived at bluewhiteonline.com and can be accessed directly from the site. The off-season newsletters will only be available online. Printed copies are not being mailed. Whether it's a complete recap of national signing day in February, a preview of the basketball and wrestling tournaments in March, or complete Blue-White Game coverage and analysis in April, BWI has you covered. ATE UPD TER SLET We're excited about the imNEW provements we've made, and we hope readers will share our enQB llege ior co thusiasm. Look for additional a jun cus to its fo newsletters on the following dates: turns s and ecruit | Jan. 16, Feb. 7, March 6, March 20, four r gains State Penn April 17 and April 20. KK arview e re in th no on is ted will rs seas tra lette ball Illus foot hite ekly news ntinue 2012 Blue W ll co ve g we The , and ributin But we wi prehensi or mirr be dist com son. ve er f-sea ers the at you' long the of crib ge th ring r subs covera du ing ou orts I. ion to br ate sp m BW fro St blicat t pu Penn to expect prin will e thly you com r mon age mail, to ou you by - to 12-p ll all wi tion to addi livered t one 10 l. 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