Pennsylvania State University, known as "Penn State," is among the 10 biggest public universities in the country. Its athletic teams are known as the Nittany Lions, the type of mountain lion that used to live in the area that is now University Park where the university is located. The school's colors are blue and white, originally black and dark pink.
The majority of Penn State's sports teams are a part of the Big Ten conference, with the exception of lacrosse and hockey. Penn State joined the Big Ten conference in 1991 and since then, they have won 48 conference titles and 11 tournament titles. The women's soccer team has the second longest conference title winning streak, winning eleven straight titles. The women's volleyball team has the longest has the longest Big Ten title winning streak with 6 straight conference titles. With 35 NCAA titles, Penn State has won the most amounts of NCAA championships in the Big Ten conference. Penn State's athletic program is considered one of the most successful athletic programs in the country as it consistently receives high rankings from the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. In addition to varsity sports, club sports are very popular at Penn State and some its club teams, such as skiing and swimming, compete nationally.
The football team is the one of most popular teams and draws large crowds. Beaver Stadium, where the football team plays, has the largest seating capacity of any stadium in the country, just a little larger than Michigan's stadium. During home football games, State College becomes the third most populated city in Pennsylvania, just behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The team is coached by 84 year old Joe Paterno who is in his 44th year of coaching. Paterno and the head coach of Florida State are in competition for having the most wins in Division 1-A history.
