After decades of stable existence as the Big Ten Conference that most sports fans know, in 1990 they extended an invitation to Penn State. At the time, Penn State played in the Atlantic 10 in basketball and an independent in football. A strong football team, the Nittany Lions came into the conference with a rich history of success, having completed 12 unbeaten seasons and achieving two national champion titles. Hopes were high that Penn State would increase the competitiveness of the conference. While that has been true, it has been more challenging to the Nittany Lions. They have had only one unbeaten season since joining the conference, when they won their first conference title in 1994. They have achieved three more conference titles, but have found it hard since being placed in the same division as both Ohio State and Michigan.
One thing that hasn't changed for Penn State is their defense. Penn State is often called "Linebacker U" for the quality of linebackers produced by this school. Penn State and Ohio State usually produce linebackers and other defensive backs that are highly treasured by NFL teams. Ironically, perhaps the two most impactful players from Penn State in the NFL were not linebackers but running backs: CurtWarner and Franco Harris.
Many teams have a "color war", where all the fans in the stands wear one of the team colors or a color opposite a key rival. Penn State was one of the early originators of this trend, with the "White Out". Although it became a nationally recognized act in 2004, it dates to earlier. Although an exact date is unknown, large groups of students and fans have "whited out" sections since 1997.
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