STATE COLLEGE, PA. – After some 25 years at Penn State, Joe Battista lost count of the number of discussions and grand plans he was part of that never got off the ground regarding the Nittany Lions establishing a Division I men’s ice hockey program.
So when Terry Pegula called in 2005 to invite the Penn State associate athletic director and former men’s club hockey team coach out for dinner, Battista essentially rolled his eyes.