While dance marathons have existed since the 1930s and 40s, Penn State's Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon was the first collegiate philanthropy, but it doesn't stand alone today.

Schools across the nation have followed the trend of fund-raising dance marathons.

The University of Iowa started its dance marathon nine years ago, mainly because of a Penn Stater, said Alison Myers, the Iowa marathon's executive director.

"It was the combined effort of a student adviser, who had a friend at Penn State and challenged her to have a dance marathon," Myers said.

Every year, the marathon gains momentum because students develop connections with the families for whom they dance and are able to see where the money is going, she said.

For other schools, such as the University of Florida, there is an indirect connection between their dance marathon and Penn State. "Our adviser actually danced [in Thon] at Penn State 14 years ago," said Lee Friedlander, Florida's overall chair.

Ten years ago, the Children's Miracle Network gave the University of Florida the idea of having a dance marathon, and now they are the largest philanthropy in the Southeast, Friedlander said.

Although some schools might have gotten the idea from Penn State, each has added its own twist.

Indiana University officials, whose dance marathon runs for 36 hours, said their experience is like no other.

"The binding experience from those who run [it] and dance is ... a lot different than anywhere else," said Justin Hanig, director of catering.

The University of North Carolina's dance marathon stands out from others since it started its own fund -- the For The Kids Fund, overall committee member Haley West said.

Unlike Penn State, which has had a long-standing partnership with the Four Diamonds Fund, Northwestern University officials said by changing its beneficiary every year, people on campus and in the community will have more exposure and learn more about a specific cause.

"We change our primary beneficiary every year because we feel we have the ability to reach out to many," said Justin Ballheim, executive chair.

Because dance marathons are so long and dancers cannot sit, most schools have activities other than dancing. The University of Florida allows the dancers to do whatever activities they want, as long as they follow their only rules, "no sitting; no sleeping," Friedlander said.

The University of Michigan has activities similar to Penn State. "We have entertainment groups come in, arts and crafts, a line dance ... which is 12 minutes long, and the dance captains lead it," said Andrea Umbach, Michigan's special events coordinator.

However, Northwestern University does not allow dancers to do anything but dance all for 30 hours, Ballheim said. "We stress dancing for the dancers, but we do have other activities for the other students," she said. "The final hours are an inspiring thing; all 500 dancers stick through it and get really excited."

Marathoners from the North, South, East and West have tried to make their dance marathons as successful as possible and hope to improve every year.

Penn State, however, is still unique because it began the dance marathon collegiate tradition in 1973; it is held for 48 hours and has had a partnership with the Four Diamonds Fund for 27 years, said Adam Duff, overall Thon chair.

Because of Penn State's dance marathon tradition, people have been inspired to do the same.

"Now that I'm here, I can see why other people get inspired by it," said Theresa Begly (senior-media studies), an independent dancer this year.

Thon continuously gets better and improves its fundraising, Duff said.

"We lead the way with planning and execution; no one even comes close to the magnitude of this event," Duff said.