When Penn State was invited to the Big Ten in 1990, administrators and faculty knew joining would expand benefits beyond athletics to lobbying, exposure and information exchanges among the universities.

Although athletics was the biggest reason for joining the conference, academics was an important factor as well as others, Athletic Director Tim Curley said.

Joining the prestigious conference has increased media attention for Penn State with television packages for conference games and awards such as player of the week, Curley said.

Being in the Big Ten has also given Penn State the chance to recruit from a wider pool of players, said Associate Athletic Director Ellen Perry.

"My overall sense is that (joining the conference) has brought the name Penn State into the Midwest," Perry said.

Although the Big Ten's agreement with the Rose Bowl may have inhibited Penn State's chances for the national championship, Executive Vice President and Provost John Brighton said he cannot think of any way the University lost out academically by joining the conference.

"I can't think of any disadvantages -- there are only opportunities, no constraints," Brighton said.

But the University also made some changes when it joined the conference, such as a new program devised to allow full funding for all teams competing in the Big Ten.

The decision was made because the University realized its system for allocating student-athlete grants was not functioning well, especially as a part of the Big Ten, Curley said. Most Big Ten schools fully fund all of their sports, so Penn State had to come up to the same level, he added.

Previously, Penn State used a tier system to determine funding for student-athletes' grants. The system gave 100 percent of the maximum scholarship funding that the NCAA allows to sports such as football and men's and women's basketball, Perry said.

Academically, Penn State can participate in student-exchange programs for graduate students. The University has also joined the Council of Institutional Cooperation, a research cooperative made up of all of the Big Ten schools and the University of Chicago, which withdrew from the conference in 1946.

"The consortium involves all aspects of the universities except athletics," said Dennis LaBissioniere, Big Ten director of information services.

Brighton also meets with all the provosts of the conference three times a year to talk about academics and compare ideas. Before joining the conference, the University relied on professional societies for information gathering and sharing ideas.

"We learn a lot from interacting with the schools," Brighton said. "They are among the best public universities in the nation."

University computer technicians also produced a report recommending new learning technology and electronic classrooms. They are working together to develop software for such projects.

A louder voice might also be heard in Washington, D.C., when the Big Ten schools join to lobby for higher education.

"They make a strong lobbying group -- they serve as a promoter of the interests of the University in Washington," Brighton said.

As for further expansion of the conference, there has been no discussion of doing so right now, Perry said. When Penn State decided to join the Big Ten in 1990, the Big Ten put a four-year halt to adding any more members.