Order Why Penn State Now For...

  • 10 years of exclusive interviews

  • ​Sports highlights from the most memorable games

  • Personal testimonies from 80s Penn Staters

  • The best of downtown State College

  • Posters and other memorabilia

  • Game tickets and programs

  • Phi Psi 500 and other favorite traditions

  • A complete copy of the "Are You a Penn Stater?" guidebook

  • ​​Never-before-seen photos from Penn State’s most transformational decade!

  • 24+ hours battery backup

Why Penn State? Because WE ARE.

Get your hardcover copy shipped to you for only $27.95 plus $3.50 shipping & handling!

A $250 value for just $27.95? Really? Yes! Ten years of the Penn State Football Annual, the complete Are you a Penn Stater guidebook and matching poster, the 1985 Miami’s Nice Orange Bowl poster, the famous “Twins” poster and more would easily cost more than $250 on eBay or another collectible site. But you get it all HERE, in this full-color, 256-page commemorative book that combines vintage favorites with the captivating story of how the transformation decade of the 80s turned Penn State from a state school in sleepy central PA to a revered global powerhouse! Get your copy!

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Get your hardcover copy shipped to you for only $27.95 plus $3.50 shipping & handling!

- Greg Woodman Author of "Why Penn State"

From the Author

It has been over 40 years since I was a student entrepreneur at Penn State. I curated a decade’s worth of Penn State Football Annuals, “Are You a Penn Stater” guidebook and gathered up all the fun novelty products that I was involved with like Stand Up Joe, Twins Poster, Miami Nice Art, Mini Joe and many vintage T-Shirts plus more produced over that decade. For ten years, Joe Paterno sat down with our editor for exclusive interviews, and in rereading them, you will be fascinated as he waxes deeply on many topics. As I cleared out a storage locker filled with sentimental and often emotional art, articles, products and insights from the 1980s that took Penn State from an average State School to a global brand, I knew that I wanted to capture it all in a book. "Why Penn State" is the result—256 page, full color, plus hardback cover. To all the contributors of art and articles and photos and great memories, I thank you. Most of all, I thank the heroes of this book, and that is you. You, the customer, inspired me to attempt to capture the special feelings and emotions unique to a Penn Stater, of which I hope you’ll agree: “Why the 1980’s Gave Nittany Lions a Common Cause, Shared Values and the Keys to Success”!

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Get your hardcover copy shipped to you for only $27.95 plus $3.50 shipping & handling!

Return to Penn State During the 1980s

Recent Media Coverage!

  • "In the 1980s, Greg Woodman was a Penn State student studying entrepreneurship. Now, he’s the author and curator of a book chronicling what he sees as a transformational decade for the university."

    -Centre Daily Times

  • “Football was just a metaphor,” Woodman said. “The tailgating, the community and the cheering is for these special feelings and emotions of each other.”

    -The Collegian

Ten percent of each sale will be donated to The Center for Penn State Student Entrepreneurship

The Center for Penn State Student Entrepreneurship is an internationally recognized award winning program that promotes entrepreneurship activity and education across the University, to further innovation, leadership and entrepreneurship for students across all disciplines.

Get your hardcover copy shipped to you for only $27.95 plus $3.50 shipping & handling