Football Introduces Penn State United Campaign

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: October 20, 2020

Courtesy of GoPSU Athletics

Football program to wear uniform patch and helmet stickers this season as part of social justice initiatives

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Nittany Lion football program will roll out the Penn State United campaign when the team wears a uniform patch, helmet stickers and warmup shirts with a special social justice logo to promote unity for the 2020 football season, which begins Saturday at Indiana.

The logo Penn State football student-athletes will wear in competition this year to symbolize our journey for unity. The goal of Penn State United is to construct a culture of respect, appreciation and empathy for all differences. We are a country, state and institution rooted diversity, shared experience and hope.Penn State Football believes, more than ever, we can help create a better society by publicly and peacefully acknowledging our pursuit to move beyond simply tolerating differences to recognizing these differences can enrich our Commonwealth.

“I am so proud of the work done by our football student-athletes and staff this summer regarding social justice,” said Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Sandy Barbour. “Penn State United is the one of many steps we have and will take as an athletics department to address social justice issues facing our country. At Penn State, we are all committed to fostering an environment of inclusivity, respect and appreciation throughout out 31 ICA programs.”

The logo, which features the outline of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with diverse interlocking hands in Penn State’s signature blue and white color, was born out of a discussion with the football program’s leadership council. The football program, and many other ICA programs, have had numerous social justice conversations throughout the summer and are dedicated to creating a society of diversity and inclusion.

Social justice work continues to be a priority for all of Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics and as other programs begin competition, they will have the ability to adopt the Penn State United logo or introduce their own social justice initiatives.