Football, fine art and philanthropy will collide this weekend in a new biannual tradition.
Football players shove and tackle one another against the backdrop of a filled-to-the-brim Beaver Stadium in a painting by Matthew Rice, a former Penn State and NFL football player.
Rice, who graduated in 2005 with a degree in integrative arts, will present a print of his work "Undefeated" to the football team at Friday's Rally in the Valley.
The piece will roam State College on Thursday and Friday before the pep rally, giving students the chance to sign it before it is presented to the football team, said Kerry Small, co-founder of LionSpire and adviser to Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
Small and Megan Tramaglini, co-founders of the new tradition, call the project "LionSpire." They said they hope to reverse the order in the spring with a new painting for the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (Thon).
"It would start with the football team signing it, then students," Megan Tramaglini, co-founder of LionSpire, said. "Then it would be presented at Thon."
"Undefeated" will make its State College debut at the Blue Line offices, 234 E. College Ave. at 5 today. It will be marched to Paternoville for students to sign from 6 to 10 p.m. and will be available for signing downtown Friday afternoon. Small prints signed by Rice will also be sold at each of the painting's stops. Proceeds will benefit Rice's Blu Art Foundation, which benefits youth in inner city Baltimore, Small said.
Tramaglini (sophomore-kinesiology) said they hope to get as many students and student groups involved as possible.
"The point of it is a way for students to support and inspire each other," Tramaglini said. "We're all passionate about sports teams, we're all passionate about Thon. This is a way for them to connect together."
Pi Beta Phi sorority and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity are both helping with the event. Sara Linkosky, president of Pi Beta Phi sorority, said members are volunteering Thursday and Friday to escort the painting and monitor the student signings.
"I hope students rally support for it because it is a good cause," Linkosky (junior-political science) said. "We do so many things throughout the year -- why not one more?"
