Three weeks ago, Penn State football made their final appearance of the season in Beaver Stadium at the Michigan State game. At the end of the game we said goodbye to the seniors and to yet another football season. For football fans, the Pinstripe Bowl will be the last college football game we’ll see until Blue-White weekend in the spring. So you may be wondering how we will spend our semester now that football is over. The good news is that you don’t have to forget about sports! With football season in hibernation, you will have more time to go to other sporting events such as hockey and basketball. You might even have time to join your own IM team! Here are some sports that you can get pumped up for during the spring semester:
1. Men’s Hockey: The men’s hockey team is already off to a great start with their 10-5 record. Their games will be back in the Pegula Ice Arena starting Friday, January 9th. Depending on the day, games are usually every Friday and Saturday at 5 p.m. or 7 p.m. and tickets are usually about $35 per game.
2. Men’s Basketball: With a 10-1 record, men’s basketball is also off to an incredible start this season. The lions are currently in their ACC/Big Ten Challenge, but the first home game after we come back for the spring semester is Saturday, January 17th at 1 p.m. There are games on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, so there is plenty of time for you to get your fix. Games usually start at 7 p.m. during the week and sometime in the afternoon most Saturdays. Tickets range from $10 to $30 per game.
3. Women’s Basketball: The Lady Lions take over the BJC during the fall and spring semesters. Their first home game during the spring semester is Thursday, January 22nd against Indiana at 7 p.m. The Lady Lions have games during the week and weekends. March 1st is their annual Pink Zone game where the Lady Lions wear pink jerseys in support of breast cancer awareness and, at the end, reveal the amount of money they raised during the year for the cause.
4. Intramural Sports: Instead of watching sports, you can play your own! Now that football season is over, you have time to start an intramural team. You can burn off that freshman 15 (or sophomore 30), and have some quality bonding time with your friends. Many clubs already have their own IM teams or you can start your own with a group of friends. Spring IM teams include volleyball, soccer, racquetball and dodgeball. To register a team, it is between $15 and $50 per team; but if you split that amount among each person, it is a lot cheaper. Some IM sports have round robin tournaments while others have individual games. So consider mixing things up a bit and trying out some IM sports next semester!
So, my sporty collegiettes, get out and watch or play these sports while pining for football season to be here once again. Now let’s play ball and continue to root on our fellow lions!