Apparently, the future of Penn State women’s basketball exists in the past — with the team set to play 11 of its 14 home games this season at Rec Hall instead of the Bryce Jordan Center.
Going back to the future can be a good thing. It just needs to be executed better than Penn State has done so far.
It’s not a bad decision to move women’s basketball back to Rec Hall, and it’s largely a business decision. The smaller venue makes for a cozy environment as the struggling program works to draw fans, regain trust and win games. At the same time, the athletic department saves money by not playing at the bigger BJC.
Because athletics and the university’s finance and business operation, which controls the BJC, are different administrative units, when athletics uses that facility, it pays rent. When it uses Rec Hall, it does not. Who knows, maybe someday not long from now the men’s team could be back in the old gym more regularly, too.
Anyway, the women’s team made its return debut to Rec Hall on Nov. 3 with a hard-fought and eventually lopsided victory over Bucknell, 83-55. That might be the story for much of the team’s nonconference schedule — victories against less-talented teams.
Still, the return felt half-hearted in terms of embracing the history and possibilities of Rec Hall.
As much as the move was made to save money, Penn State needs to make one big investment back into the old building — and that’s in the form of a center-hung scoreboard over the court. It’s a fan-friendly, logical necessity.
Nobody wants to look to the end of the court, up high at ceiling level to see a scoreboard. It’s inconvenient and silly. Even in the old days, there was a center-hung scoreboard.
It’s nonsensical that the scoreboard was ever taken out of the building. Maybe it’s not necessary for volleyball games but just pull it higher in the rafters for those events. It would certainly be helpful for wrestling, too.
The game against Bucknell included lasers that illuminated the floor, flaming towers during pregame introductions and last names on the back of Penn State player uniforms. Those were three big changes inside the old gym — where the team has a 204-36 record.
What was missing, though, was nostalgia, a sense of place and something to embrace and celebrate. With the largely older women’s basketball fan base, many in attendance probably remember the program’s success in the building when the Lady Lions played there from 1979 to 1996.
Those memories can be tapped as a foundation.
For any newer fans, some sense of history, or players who made a historic impact, could only serve to strengthen connections with the program.
Luckily for Penn State, it has players who starred during that era already around the program, or available to be part of making new connections in the old building.
Finding ways to engage people like Susan Robinson, the 1992 Wade Trophy winner, or Suzie McConnell-Serio, the 1988 Naismith Award winner, seem like easy promotional victories.
A little pregame highlight video after which they present the game ball for tipoff, and you have a winning recipe. If not that, then something else. Anything, please.
Beyond that duo, standouts like Bethany (Collins) Irwin, Kim Calhoun, Angie (Potthoff) Barber, Annie Troyan and others could be guests to celebrate and bridge the years while also offering a sense of history and pride. In fairness, several of the former Lady Lions are coaches and scheduling conflicts might be a challenge but do something.
Have a shooting contest? Well, then make one of the required spots to make a shot from the spot of some historic shot in program history at Rec Hall.
Or, what about some program trivia that can connect and inform while the contest leads to a winner?
Just plopping what was done before, during and after games at the BJC might not be the best route to success — and that’s what the opening game this season felt like.
Of course, winning would be the ultimate solution to creating energy and drawing crowds, and that could be a challenge again this season. Leaning a little more into history and nostalgia, though, could lead to gameday presentations that are a little more engaging, special and unique — and the connections that result from those could benefit the program.
Still, if Penn State is insistent on bringing back only one from the previous era in Rec Hall, then maybe shelve the scoreboard (though it’s still needed), avoid the planning necessary to embrace nostalgia and just bring back winning.
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