STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State is making a move to become a major college hockey school.
University leaders on Friday ended years of rumors and speculation by formally announcing the school is starting Division I men’s and women’s ice hockey programs.
The teams will begin play in 2012-13, and a new multi-purpose arena will be built. The facility and the establishment of the men’s program will be funded by the largest private gift in Penn State history — an $88 million donation by Terry and Kim Pegula.
Penn State currently has club teams in men’s and women’s hockey. The men’s team, called the Icers, is considered one of the best club programs in the country.
Penn State will be the sixth Big Ten school to have a Division I hockey program.
