While Penn State has its share of traditions and folklore, other Big Ten universities offer some stiff competition with their own weird and interesting traditions.

Penn State traditions range from throwing marshmallows during football games to visiting the Nittany Lion Shrine to listening to the Willard preacher.

Other University traditions include singing with the Phyrst Family at Phyrst Inc., 111 E. Beaver Ave., attending the Annual Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and eating grilled stickies at Ye Olde College Diner, 126 W. College Ave.

The obelisk located near Willard Building is supposed to topple whenever a virgin walks by. This will never happen because legend has it that if you haven't been screwed over by the University then someone else has beat them to the punch.

But Penn State isn't the only school in the Big Ten that has virgin-related traditions.

The University of Illinois at Champaign teems with traditions.

Much like the obelisk at Penn State, the Fighting Illini have their Alma Mater Statue. The middle figure of the statue, standing with arms outstretched, is supposed to sit when a virgin walks by, said Patrick Hayes, director of programs and services for the University of Illinois Alumni Association.

Homecoming is another big tradition at Illinois. After all, Hayes said, homecoming originated at Illinois in 1910.

Partying is another form of tradition, especially tailgates. Contests are usually held to find the most extravagant tailgate, Hayes said.

Also, the Morrow Plot, the oldest experimental agricultural plot in the nation, receives an almost sacred status, said Don Dodds, Alumni Association director of the Urbana Champaign Campus.

Located near the main library at Champaign, the plot became the center of controversy a few years ago when an addition to the library was planned, Dodds said. Some feared the new addition would cast shadows onto the plot and "screw up the yield," Dodds said. As a result, architects planned the new addition underground, he said.

Plus, Dad's Day started at Illinois, said Dodds. This is a time when fathers are invited to campus to spend the weekend, he said.

"Some stay in fraternities and some stay on campus. A few bring their wives," he said.

But never fear that Illinois is sexist. Mom's Day is held in the spring, he said.

The University of Wisconsin at Madison also abounds with tradition and folklore, with, of course, one about virgins.

According to the Wisconsin Alumni Association's 1990 Almanac, the statue of Abraham Lincoln located on Bascom Hill will stand whenever a virgin should happen to pass by. The statue has never risen to the occasion.

The band gets into traditions by turning their hats around and wearing them backward whenever one of the Badger teams wins a game. Also, after the song "Varsity," members of the crowd wave their arms. Begun in 1934, then band leader Ray Dvorak told students to wave as a salute to University of Wisconsin President Glenn Frank --that arm-waving still continues today.

Wisconsin's graduating law students also get into the swing of things during homecoming. The students march down the field and throw their white canes over the cross bar of the goal post. If the students catch their canes on the other side, then they are sure to win their first case, but if they fall, tradition has it that they will lose.

Of course everyone knows the song "On, Wisconsin" -- the copyrights of which are owned by Michael Jackson.

At Ohio State University at Columbus, the band performs one of the biggest traditions. Known as "The Best Damn Band in the Land" or TBDBITL for short, the band performs a formation known as Script Ohio -- they spell out Ohio in script form, said Jean Kelly, associate editor for The Ohio State Alumni Magazine.

Taking the tradition one step further, it is considered a great honor to dot the letter "i" in the script, Kelly said. Often a sousaphone player comes out, and with a flourish and a tip of his hat, he dots the "i," she said.

It is a "dream to dot the i" since so few get the chance, Kelly added. Those who do join the ranks of such figures as Woody Hayes and Bob Hope, she said.

Another tradition at Ohio State occurs during commencement when everygraduating student is personally handed their diploma and shakes hands with their dean, Kelly said.

Kelly added, laughing, that waiting in line is the ultimate Ohio State tradition.

Purdue University at West Lafayette, Ind., and Indiana University at Bloomington share a football tradition.

According to the September 1990 Purdue Alumnus magazine, the Old Oaken Bucket is given annually to the winner of the Purdue-Indiana football game. The bucket is more than 100 years old and was chosen because a well bucket was considered typical of Indiana. A bronze letter "P" or "I" is placed on the handle depending on who won the game. The tradition has been in place since 1925, although that game ended in a tie and no letter was awarded.

Boilermaker Pete at Purdue didn't begin as the university's athletic mascot. He was designed as a logo for Purdue's bookstore and was copyrighted by "Red" Samuels and "Doc" Eppell, original owners of the bookstore. But Purdue Pete was used by other organizations, including the university itself, for their own purposes. In 1958, Purdue Pete made his debut as the athletic mascot.

Purdue's official mascot is the Boilermaker Special -- a locomotive mounted on an automobile chassis. It is believed to be the world's largest mascot.