So much can happen in a span of 37 years -- countries can dissolve, wars can begin and end, the presidency could change hands eight times. Or, as in the case of Penn State men's gymnastics, you can build a dynasty.

From 1939-1976 that's exactly what Gene Wettstone did. Nine NCAA National Championship teams -- tied with Illinois for the most titles in the sport. In his 37 years, Wettstone laid the foundation for what Penn State gymnastics has become.

This weekend, at the Big Ten Men's and Women's Gymnastics Championships, the other conference schools will experience the tradition and history embodied by the Blue and White.

"He's the coach that put gymnastics on the map, in the country, not only at Penn State," Men's Gymnastics Coach Randy Jepson said. "He made gymnastics a real spectator sport."

All totalled, a record of 197-41 under Wettstone, the nine championships and 13 Olympians to boot. If they had kept records of All-Americans back then Jepson suspects the Lions might have more than 200.

There was a time during the storied coach's tenure that fans flocked by the thousands to see the home gymnastics meets. When people would go early to basketball games and stick around just to get good seats for gymnastics meets.

To hear Jepson tell it, it was as simple for Wettstone as just putting quality teams on the floor.

When the topic of the history of Penn State gymnastics arises, the names of the greats roll off Jepson's tongue quickly and readily, gymnasts of both recent notoriety and past glory as well. Karl Schier, Adam Carton, Wayne Cowden, Mark Sohn, Spider Maxwell, Ian Shelley, Terry Bartlett, Mike Masucci, Tom Dunn, Marshall Avener, Gene Whelan, Armando Vega, and on, and on and on.

Their pictures now grace his office walls -- perhaps a subtle reminder of the days when basketball played second fiddle. The sport has evolved, some rules have changed, but there is still one constant. It's never easy to follow in the footsteps of a legend.

"It's a real honor, it really is," Jepson said, adding that when trying to get the idea of history and tradition across to his present athletes, he sometimes wonders if it makes an impact at all.

But Jepson is lucky in one sense -- he actually has one of the aforementioned greats as his coaching assistant. Ironic really, because Mike Masucci gives Jepson a lot of the credit for what he himself has become.

Masucci has had some very positive influences during his career at Penn State. Not only his coaches, but his teammates as well. Teammates like Carton.

"I loved competing for the team," Masucci said, adding that it was nice to have Carton around to push him to work as hard as he could. "We were really intense in practice. We wanted to be tops in the country."

It was a crisp spring day when the foundation of Penn State women's gymnastics simply picked up and left.

For 18 years, Judi Avener had bled blue and white, through two national titles, 284 wins, and the incredible progress of the sport.

Avener left for Florida in the spring of 1992, leaving a legacy behind.

The women's gymnastics team now rests in the capable hands of Steve Shephard. But when one looks at the history of Penn State women's gymnastics, one starts with Avener.

The flamboyant coach began her tenure in 1975, back when women's sports were in their infancy, when Penn State was a member of the AIAW.

"I'm really excited about the better teams," Avener said. "They just keep getting better -- increasing difficulty, profiting from television, and having poised athletes, bigger crowds."

Avener's first national champion was Ann Carr in 1977. Carr's name was placed on an award which is given to the most inspirational performer at each Lady Lion home meet.

But the crowning achievements for Avener came in 1978 and 1980, when the Lady Lions won two national championships. The 1978 championship was the first for a Penn State women's sport.

For a while, women's gymnastics was Penn State's second-biggest sport.

However, the program has not survived without scandal. In 1983, Lady Lion gymnasts Karen Polak and Heidi Anderson threatened to transfer if assistant coach Marshall Avener -- then Judi's husband -- wasn't fired. The gymnasts claimed he had verbally abused them on a number of occasions.

Marshall Avener stayed. Penn State's top gymnasts left. And Lady Lion gymnastics took one on the chin.

After a few down years, Avener was able to revive the program, and the Lady Lions finished fourth at the NCAAs in 1992 before finishing 11th in Shephard's first season.

The former Lady Lion coach returned to Penn State last weekend with her Florida Gators, and visited today's version of the Lady Lions just a week before they host the Big Ten Championships.

"The program is still here," Shephard said shortly after taking the head coaching job, "and we intend to be one of the powerhouses."

A Big Ten title this weekend would certainly bolster that statement.