Penn State's move to the Big 10 athletic conference will bring not only athletic prestige to the University, but many academic opportunities as well, say officials at several Big 10 schools.

The main academic advantage of Big 10 participation is the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, comprised of the Big 10 schools and the University of Chicago, said Peter E. Nathan, vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculties at the University of Iowa.

The Committee on Institutional Cooperation is an academic consortium which enables Big 10 faculty and administrators to hold conferences and workshops several times a year, said Jean Girves, associate director of the C.I.C.

William C. Richardson, University executive vice president and vice provost, said Monday that Penn State will join the academic consortium. No activities with the C.I.C. have been set yet because the University is still in the planning stages of the move to the Big 10, he said.

Richardson characterizes the Big 10 move as a good academic move because of the C.I.C. affiliation and other cooperative programs.

"It's a marvelous opportunity to meet and share ideas," he said.

Penn State's previous conference, the Atlantic 10, has no such committee nor does it offer faculty and student exchanges, said Cindy Mazda, assistant commissioner of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

The cooperative programs include many at the international level and many inter-college exchanges, Richardson said. With an inter-college exchange, Penn State students could pay home tuition and attend another university.

The C.I.C. offers such optional programs as: student exchange programs, summer camps, co-op and internship programs, workshops on improving minority access to higher education, library preservation and a computer network linking the Big 10 schools and some other universities as well, Girves said.

Through the C.I.C., Big 10 academic officials from presidents and deans to professors and librarians, have the opportunity to meet with their peers several times a year, Nathan said.

The provosts of the C.I.C. schools constitute the governing body of the Committee. The provosts are appointed by their presidents, who meet as "The Council of Ten and the President of the University of Chicago," according to the C.I.C.'s biennial report.

"I meet three times a year with other vice presidents for academic affairs to discuss mutual problems and exchange information," Nathan said.

George Robb, associate vice president of external relations at the University of Minnesota, said the C.I.C. is the vehicle through which Big 10 academic cooperation takes place.

"(The C.I.C.) is a major help to us, and it would benefit Penn State," he said. "The discussion here has been about improving student athletes' lives by bringing in a school with a good academic and athletic program, such as Penn State."

Although immediate attention on Penn State's move to the Big 10 focused on athletics such as football and basketball, officials at some Big 10 schools do not believe more emphasis is placed on athletics rather than academics within the conference.

Penn State's move to the Big 10 was always played as an academic move, Richardson said. From the first press conference announcing the move, the University stressed academics, he said.

Robb pointed out that all the Big 10 schools are large research universities, and added that schools are in the conference "for both academic and athletic reasons."

Nathan agreed that athletics do not take precedence over academics in the Big 10.

"That would horrify most (Big 10) administrators," Nathan said. "The Big 10 schools have very strong athletic programs but academics are also very strong."

Nathan added that while some Penn State faculty members believe a greater emphasis will be placed on athletics, people must remember that Penn State has a very strong academic program.

The Big 10 schools' administrators also pointed out the advantages Penn State will have by being in the conference.

Penn State will benefit in terms of student and faculty recruitment because of the Big 10's national reputation, Nathan said.

John Coyle, Penn State's NCAA faculty representative, said Big 10 membership will have a positive impact on the University's national reputation.

Robb said Big 10 schools as a group are a strong lobbying voice in Washington, D.C. Being a member may help Penn State obtain federal support of academic research and student aid, he said.

"As far as sharing information there is much opportunity," she said.

Warren Haffner, University registrar, said once Penn State is in the Big 10, cross-registration agreements for exchanges of students with other conference schools may be available.

"We have to investigate some more of what the possibilities are," Haffner said, adding that GPA requirements and the feasibility of certain courses will need to be investigated.

Haffner said he has been invited to a registrars' conference in November with the C.I.C. but did not know whether Penn State will join the C.I.C.

Diana Kenepp, acting director of the University's Academic Support Center for Student Athletes, said Penn State student athletes will not take part in academic exchange programs with other Big 10 schools.

"The NCAA does not permit a student athlete at a Division I school to transfer to another school. To do that, they would have to give up their student athlete status," she said.

A sense of pride exists in being a member of the Big 10, said Malcolm Baroway, director of public information at Ohio State University.

"Within the Big 10 there is a 'fraternity' of universities that feel they have an athletic and academic prestige," he said.

The Big 10 was formed in 1895 as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives when seven large midwestern universities including Illinois, Purdue, Northwestern and Chicago decided to give faculty greater control over athletics than ever before, according to "Saga of American Sport," a book by University professors John Lucas and Ronald A. Smith.

Other reasons for forming the Big 10 Conference included improving ethical standards, athletic control and eligibility legislation, according to "Sports and Freedom" by Smith.

The conference decided that only undergraduate students who were not delinquent in studies could participate in athletics. Also, no student athlete could receive gifts, no professionals or coaches could participate and the Conference was to be ruled by faculty representatives.

This set the precedent for faculty control of an athletic conference and other universities began to look to the Big 10 as an example, according to Smith.