Another fall break has come and gone, folks.

As Penn State students were stuffing their faces with as much turkey and cranberry sauce as humanly possible back home, life in Happy Valley didn’t stop. From Penn State football to State College crime and Penn State news, there’s plenty to catch up on from the last week.

Here’s the Penn State news worth knowing from fall break.

News

• Penn State named Alyssa M. Wilcox its next vice president for development and alumni relations. Wilcox came to Penn State from a similar position at Purdue, and she’ll start on the first day of classes of the spring semester.
• Former Penn State executive Keith Brautigam pled guilty to charges of strangulation and simple assault stemming from a 2023 arrest. Brautigam served as interim vice president for information technology and chief information officer.
• Former Penn State gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik will co-host “Dancing with the Stars: Live!” after his fourth-place finish on “Dancing with the Stars.” Nedoroscik will tour with the show, which is set to stop at the Bryce Jordan Center on January 23.
• Sue Paterno made a $25,000 donation to Penn State University Libraries in the lead-up to Giving Tuesday. Nobody loves a Penn State library like the Paternos.
• The State College Planning Commission heard an overview of preliminary plans for a student housing project on a portion of Westerly Parkway Plaza. Landmark Properties plans to construct The Retreat at Westerly Parkway, a 142-unit development, on the east side of the plaza.

Athletics

• Penn State football escaped a dogfight in Minnesota, beating the Golden Gophers 26-25. Some impressive play-calling from James Franklin on the game’s final drive earned the Nittany Lions the win.
• Penn State men’s soccer alum Ben Dawson was given the reins to Leicester City of the Premier League. Dawson, who attended Penn State from 1999 to 2002, began leading first-team training after the club fired its manager, Steve Cooper.
• Penn State football’s Anthony Donkoh and Alonzo Ford Jr. suffered long-term injuries in the win against Minnesota. Donkoh’s injury was a blow to the offensive line, though Nolan Rucci has stepped up well in Donkoh’s absence.
• Penn State men’s basketball picked up nine points in the AP Poll. Don’t expect to see the Nittany Lions in Monday’s poll, though. They suffered their first loss of the season to Clemson in the Sunshine Slam championship.
• Three Penn State women’s volleyball stars — Camryn Hannah, Taylor Trammell, and Jess Mruzik, were drafted into the Pro Volleyball Federation.
• Penn State Athletics received a $1 million donation for Beaver Stadium renovations from an anonymous family with several Penn State alumni.
• A Penn State Board of Trustees committee approved an amendment to James Franklin’s contract just before the Maryland game. The amendment altered Franklin’s incentives surrounding the College Football Playoff given the change to a 12-team format.
• Penn State women’s volleyball clinched a share of the Big Ten title with Nebraska after upsetting the Cornhuskers at Rec Hall.
• Penn State women’s soccer saw its season end with an overtime golden goal in a loss to No. 2 seed North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
• Penn State football rolled over Maryland 44-7 en route to a surprise bid to the Big Ten Championship. The Nittany Lions will face Oregon at 8 p.m. on Saturday, December 7, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• Penn State football offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki expects to interview for the open West Virginia head coaching job, according to Mike Asti of WV Sports Now. As if the Nittany Lions haven’t had enough coaching turnover.
• Penn State women’s volleyball also clinched a top seed in the NCAA Tournament, and the Nittany Lions will have hosting rights through the quarterfinals, starting with a Friday, December 6, match with Delaware State.

About the Author

Joe Lister

Joe, shockingly, was Onward State's managing editor from 2024-25. It was an honor. He's off employed doing journalism things, hopefully. If you want to complain about anything he's ever written, you can find him on Twitter (iamjoelister), email (jlister2021@gmail.com), or Signal (iamjoelister.93).

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