Penn State football: A dozen questions as the post-Paterno era begins

This year will be the most closely watched football season in the history of Penn State. The post-Paterno era comes with many questions. Here are 12.

8. Not the only game in town

If the football team’s fortunes head south, are there other Penn State teams ready to take up the slack?

Yes, for while most of the public only knows Penn State football, the university is no one-note athletic power. This fall, the women’s soccer team is nationally ranked. On Aug. 24, it  lost a 3-2 heart breaker to No. 1-ranked Stanford  before a capacity State College crowd of 5,117. The women’s volleyball team is a perennial powerhouse, with an unprecedented four national championships between 2007 and 2010, and is off to a fast start this season. As the football season winds down, winter sports are there to give a lift. Four starters return from last year’s Big Ten 25-10 runner-up women’s basketball squad, including first-team, all-conference selection Alex Bentley and the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Maggie Lucas.  On the men’s side, the wrestling and volleyball teams enjoy strong traditions. The wrestlers are the two-time defending national champions, and the volleyball team regularly ranks in a Top 10 largely populated by California schools.

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