No many Penn State students have been bodyslammed onto concrete floors or smacked in the head with a stell chair.

Mark Ritter has.

"A lot of times, I'll go home sore as hell," Ritter said. "It's not as easy as everybody thinks. You just learn to take it."

Ritter (senior-marketing) took a leave of absence from the University this semester to attend the Monster Factory, a professional wrestling school in New Jersey, to learn the basics of being a manager for pro wrestling.

Ritter, the only college student at the wrestling school, will return to Penn State this summer and fall to complete his degree requirements.

"I consider it my internship because this is what I want to do," he said.

The Monster Factory has produced some premier wrestlers, including Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka, who both wrestle for the World Wrestling Federation.

At the school, Ritter has acquired basic knowledge of the sport --learning how the wrestlers and referees think, as well as promoting the wrestlers and interfering in matches.

Ritter's persona -- "The Mastermind" -- is based on his intelligence. He decided against a more outrageous personality, preferring some thing modest. He carries around a book and wears glasses.

"If anybody messes with me," Ritter said, "I whap them over the head with (the book.)"

Ritter, at 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds, is a formidible opponent for any wrestler that chooses to bash him. But Ritter's main foe is the crowd, an aspect he loves. Picking on a fan -- whether he's "fat, bald or stupid" -- gets the crowd involved, Ritter said, so he knows he is doing his job.

"You can just grill them to death, and you can't do that in public," he said.

His "Mastermind" personality is as a "bad guy." Ritter would not have it any other way. The thrill he gets from the crowd yelling at him is more than enough.

"The more they boo, the more they hate you," Ritter said. "A lot of those idiots out there, I don't want them cheering for me."

Ritter's parents were not too keen on the idea at first, but they have gradually come to accept it. From his childhood, Ritter never had dreams of fighting in the ring. He wanted to be the man behind the wrestler.

"I never wanted to be a wrestler," he said. I always wanted to be a manager."

Like his idols -- Captain Lou Albano and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, among others -- Ritter's dream includes managing in the WWF.

Ritter, a manager for the football team for four years, has been watching wrestling payper-view events with some of the Lion football players, including center Bucky Greeley. Greeley said he was a little surprised when he heard the news.

"You really don't believe something like that," Greeley said. "You knew he was serious."

But Ritter will have to start in a smaller wrestling league. He will travel on weekends to manage over the summer.

The WWF requires three to five years of professional experience before considering a candidate, said Ann Russo, WWF talent coordinator. She said the WWF receives many promotional tapes a day from managers, but added that the requirements for a manager are not set in stone.

"It's hard to say what a person's chance is," Russo said. "If you have what it takes, you make it."

Managing in the smaller leagues is similar to baseball's minor league system, Ritter said. It will take hard work, but Ritter is ready for it.

"This semester's been the most fun I've ever had in my life," he said.