The latest in University sports results, upcoming arts events and the local weather forecast are now just a phone call away.

Callers from all over the country can access a new 900 telephone service -- sponsored by the Penn State Alumni Association -- with a touch-tone phone 24 hours a day for 95 cents a minute.

Launched Jan. 15 and updated daily, the Nittany Line is an information service geared toward University alumni outside central Pennsylvania, said Jerry Wettstone, alumni field director and line coordinator.

The purpose of the line is "to provide up-to-date information on the University for our alumni and friends," Wettstone said.

Friends are considered parents of University students or fans of Penn State, he said.

Once a caller accesses the line, a main menu presents eight choices including sports results, football news, upcoming weekend campus events and Accu-Weather's three-day local forecast.

Most main menu choices have a sub-menu. Under sports results, callers can choose from a variety of sports, including men's and women's basketball.

A call to the Nittany Line averages two minutes and provides enough information to plan a weekend trip to University Park, Wettstone said.

Accu-Call, a component of Accu-Weather in State College, developed the menu for the line, said Michael A. Steinberg, Accu-Weather vice president.

Accu-Call provides technical support for the line and maintains the computer system to handle the calls, he said, adding that Penn State can update the messages by calling the system at Accu-Weather and entering information directly.

Steve Jones, of WZWW-FM (3WZ) and the play-by-play announcer for the men's basketball team on the Penn State Sports Network, is the voice for the Nittany Line.

Certain menus, especially the sports results menu, must be updated constantly, Jones said.

"You can't be lackadaisical about it, because people are calling with the idea that they are getting the latest information and you have to provide that," he said.

Wettstone said the system is financially supported by the Alumni Association, not the University.

"It is not a fund-raising effort," he said.

The service is not yet well-known because it is new, Wettstone said.

"I think our volume is fairly low at the moment," he said.