Paterno to be honored, Posluszny set to speak
Penn State's Joe Paterno and Paul Posluszny will be among the coaches and student-athletes recognized at one of the pinnacle events of the college football calendar, the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Awards Dinner.
The 49th annual black tie event will take place Tuesday, Dec. 5 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The NFL Network will broadcast the awards dinner on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 6:00 p.m.
Paterno will receive the Gold Medal, the Foundation's highest honor, along with Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, in a video presentation. In his 41st season as head coach of the Nittany Lions, Paterno was selected for induction into the College Hall of Fame at tomorrow's event, but will delay his induction until 2007 as he recovers from injuries sustained in a sideline collision during the Nov. 4 game at Wisconsin.
A senior linebacker, Posluszny is one of 17 National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Scholar-Athletes from across all NCAA and NAIA divisions. He will receive an $18,000 fellowship for post-graduate studies. He also is a finalist for the Draddy Trophy, presented to the nation's premier college football Scholar-Athlete, with the winner receiving a total of $25,000 for post-graduate work.
Posluszny will address the dinner audience on behalf of the Scholar-Athlete class.
Students will receive notification of tickets
The Penn State students who will have the opportunity to purchase two tickets to the Outback Bowl have been selected, with notification beginning this past weekend via student University e-mail accounts.
Students selected in the random drawing have until Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 3:00 p.m. to purchase up to two tickets for the contest, which will pit Penn State against No. 17 Tennessee. The game will be played January 1, 2007 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
The online student ticket application process ended last Friday, having started on November 27.
Coach Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions will bring an 8-4 record into their third Outback Bowl appearance, having previously defeated Auburn (1996) and Kentucky (1999). The Penn State-Tennessee series is tied, 2-2, with the Lions winning the last two meetings, in the 1992 Fiesta Bowl and 1994 Citrus Bowl.
