Varsity 'S' Club helps former athletes reunite

By GEOFF DODD
Collegian Staff Writer

Well, it's been a great career for you at Penn State. Four All-Big Ten volleyball teams, two All-America baseball team selections and three Penn State varsity badminton team Player of the Year awards.

Now, after too many keg parties and a couple of blown-out knees, it's time to leave your cherished teammates and find a job with your degree in medieval studies. You want to keep in touch with everyone on all your teams, but don't know the best way. Where do you go for support?

Try the Varsity 'S' Club.

Since its inception in July 1995, the Varsity 'S' Club has served as a forum for former Nittany Lion and Lady Lion athletes, managers and people associated with teams to socialize. It works in conjunction with its elder partner, the Football Letterman's Club. The difference between the two is that the Varsity 'S' Club is for ex-athletes in all sports except football.

"By virtue of being a former athlete, you are eligible to become a member of the Varsity 'S' Club," said Frank Rocco, assistant athletic director of Penn State football operations and liaison to the Football Letterman's Club. "By virtue of being a former football player, or associated with the team in some capacity, you are eligible to become a member of the Football Letterman's Club."

Rocco, who oversees both clubs, is excited about the number of activities recently planned or completed for their respective members.

"In the last six months there's been a gymnastics reunion, and we're planning a wrestling reunion," Rocco said. "The '73 (football) team had a reunion last year."

This year, because the NCAA Wrestling Championships are being held at Penn State for the first time since 1968, the Varsity 'S' Club will sponsor the wrestling reunion, said Mike Franzetta, coordinator for the Football Letterman's Club and Varsity 'S' Club.

Furthermore, the Varsity 'S' Club will host its annual Blue-White tailgate the weekend of April 24.

"(Attendance) really varies from year to year," Franzetta said. "I couldn't give you a bump-hard figure, but I'd say approximately 100 people will show up."

In addition to random events scattered throughout the year, it also publishes the Varsity 'S' Club Newsletter, which is sent to members through the mail. Franzetta also maintains a condensed, up-to-date form on the Internet at www.psu.edu/sports/varsitys/index.html.

The newsletter highlights events and accomplishments that happened within the past six months, and as an added bonus, head coaches from the current in-season sports are invited to write an update on each team's status. It also has a special section devoted to families of athletes at Penn State, as well as a "Where are they now?" section that attempts to catch up on the lives of former Lions athletes.

"The newsletter is published two times a year," Rocco said. "With the Varsity 'S' Club, we try to get one out at the end of each athletic season, so we try to get it out in November or May."

Membership dues for eligible participants run at $16 per year.