For the first time in 33 years, the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon will be cut short.

According to a Thon press release, the 2007 Thon will end at 4 p.m. on Thon Sunday instead of 7 p.m.

Thon 2007 Overall Chairman Mike Funk said the start time for Thon on Friday is undecided.

"That is totally up in the air right now," Funk said. "I don't know if it's going to be 45, 44, 46 [hours]."

Funk said the definite length of Thon will be determined after 2007 Thon committees are formed.

Thon 2006 Overall Chairman Evan Jacobs said the decision to end at 4 p.m. on Sunday resulted from negotiations with the Big Ten Conference.

Jacobs said Penn State President Graham Spanier spoke with the Big Ten Conference to make sure no men's or women's home basketball games were on Thon weekend. In return, the conference asked if Thon could be shortened to accommodate any home basketball game on that Sunday night.

Jacobs said by ending Thon at 4 p.m., the Bryce Jordan Center (BJC) will have enough time to recover from Thon and set up for the night, if there is a game or another event.

Jacobs added the administration let the Thon overall committee decide between holding Thon at the BJC for a shorter time or at Rec Hall for the traditional 48 hours.

"There was not a push either way [by the administration], and the cut will not make too much of an impact on the structure of Thon," he said.

Penn State spokesmen Bill Mahon and Tysen Kendig did not return phone calls for comment by deadline last night.

According to the Thon Web site, www.thon.org, the first Thon, held in 1973, was 30 hours long. It was expanded to 48 hours the next year.

Funk said the "Big Move" -- when Thon will be set up in the Bryce Jordan Center -- will take place sometime on Friday, instead of on Thursday night like in the past.

"We have access to the BJC as early as we want Friday morning," he said.

Funk said the cut adds a lot of flexibility for new events that the Thon committee wants to incorporate. He said there will be some scheduling differences and newer events toward the beginning of Thon that dancers can look forward to.

Funk said dancer health and safety were also factors in the decision to shorten Thon. The shortened schedule will allow participating students to have more recovery time, such as a few more hours off their feet and more time to sleep Sunday night. The shortened schedule will help out academically in the days following Thon, Funk said.

Jacobs said he thinks students will be upset at first, but will then remember the opportunities the BJC is bringing for Thon and the Four Diamonds Fund.

"The tradition is what people take pride in, but the main motivation should be that we are still here to raise money for the kids," Funk said.

According to the Thon press release, Thon officials chose to move Thon 2007 to the BJC because it will better accommodate the large crowd Thon draws to State College every year. Because of overcrowding, the doors to Rec Hall were closed four times during Thon 2006. Also, the BJC will allow the Four Diamonds Families to access the dancers with ease and to be able to stay in the same building throughout Thon weekend, unlike in previous years.

Anastasia Serdensky (sophomore-accounting), who danced in Thon this year, said she was upset with the change and wanted Thon to continue to be 48 hours long.

"It has a tradition, and I'm big on tradition," she said.

Serdensky thought that the move to the BJC was important to allow more space for spectators, but she thought the floor area was not much bigger.

"Other than seating area, they're not really gaining a lot," she said.

Christy Cheung (senior-psychology), who danced in Thon the last two years, said she thought Thon's length had become a Penn State tradition.

"The 48 hours is like a Penn State thing. I think cutting down is like breaking the tradition," she said.