Joe Battista, head coach of the Penn State Men's ice hockey team, will be inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame - East Boro's Chapter this Thursday, October 14. The ceremony will take place at the Edgewood Country Club in Pittsburgh, where Battista will be one of ten inductees.

This season is Battista's eighteenth as head coach of the Icers, with his resume including a combined winning percentage of .808, no losing seasons, a 462-103-22 record and a record 6 ACHA National Titles ('90, '98, '00, '01, '02, '03). During his tenure as head coach, his teams have also won 14 Nittany Lion Invitational Championships, three Chicago Classic Championships, two ICHL titles ('89 & '92), two ACHL titles ('93 & '94) and the Big Ten ACHA Tournament in 2003.

Battista has been named ACHA Division I Coach of the Year for the 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 seasons, as well as being selected by Blue-White Illustrated as Penn State's Coach of the Year for 2002.

He was also selected by USA Hockey to be the head coach for Team USA at the World University Games held January 16-26, 2003 in Tarvisio, Italy.

Battista was also a standout defenseman for the Icers as an undergraduate at Penn State. During his career (1978 to 1982), he was a two-time MACHC First Team All-Star and was the team captain and MVP during his senior year. As a student, Battista was the President of the Ice Hockey Club and V.P. of Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Honor Society.