JANUARY
Penn State loses, 37-24, to Florida in the Outback Bowl.
A day after losing in the Outback Bowl, the father of freshman QB Robert Bolden says his son will transfer from Penn State. Bolden says he is upset with Paterno and wants out, but Paterno, a day later, says he will not let him out of his scholarship. Several days later, Bolden decides that he wants to stay at Penn State.
Claysburg-Kimmel's Cole Claar picks up his 100th win of his high school wrestling career.
Phil Bennett will act as the interim head coach for the Pitt football team in its Compass Bowl game against Kentucky. Pitt beats Kentucky.
Tom Bradley interviews for the Pitt football job. The Panthers, who fired Dave Wannstedt in December then had to fire new coach Mike Haywood at the end of December because of a domestic violence incident, are looking for a new coach days before their bowl game.
WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh is reporting that Tom Bradley will be the new head football coach at Pitt, two days before the team's bowl game with Kentucky. However, Pitt comes out and says that no coach has been hired yet.
On Monday, Jan. 10, Pitt hires Todd Graham, who coached at Tulsa, as its new head football coach.
The PSU men's basketball team upsets Illinois at home, two days after upsetting Michigan State at home. It is the first time since 1954 that the Nittany Lions beat back-to-back top 20 teams. They take No. 2 Ohio State down to the final buzzer before losing, 69-66.
The Steelers beat the Ravens, 31-24, in the playoffs, advancing to the AFC championship against the Jets.
Cambria Heights' Lee Stanek wins his 200th game when his Lady Highlanders beat Bedford in high school girls basketball action.
Juniata College women's volleyball coach Larry Bock steps down from his position to become the head coach of the Naval Academy volleyball team.
The Steelers beat the Jets, 24-19, in the AFC title game and will face the Packers in Super Bowl XLV.
Seth Carper goes over the 1,000-point mark for the Juniata Valley boys basketball team in a win over Southern Huntingdon.
FEBRUARY
St. Francis inducts 12 people and two teams into its Hall of Fame. Highlighted among the group are players Jess Zinoble and Stacey Alexander of the women's basketball team from the 1990s and women's coach Jenny Przekwas.
Claysburg-Kimmel loses to Huntingdon in the District 6-AA wrestling team dual championships.
The Pittsburgh Steelers lose, 31-25, to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV.
Williamsburg's Olivia Everhart goes over the 1,000-point mark in her team's win over Moshannon Valley. Coach Don Appleman picks up his 450th win for Williamsburg.
Claysburg-Kimmel wins over Langley in the first round of states in dual team high school wrestling action. At states, Huntingdon, C-K and Bedford make it to Hershey, where Bedford goes the farthest, bowing out in the consolation late rounds.
Elliot Chamberlain goes over the 1,000-point mark for the Tussey Mountain boys basketball team in a game against Hyndman.
Juniata Valley's Stuart Borst goes over the 1,000-point mark in a game against Mount Union.
Glendale girls basketball star Morgan Biddle goes over the 1,000-point mark for her career in a win over Harmony.
Sean Cronauer of Portage goes over the 1,000-point mark for his career in a game against North Star.
Eight wrestlers - Cambria Heights' Ryan Dupas, Claysburg-Kimmel's James Dodson and Cole Claar, Central Cambria's Ben Rager and Tony Risaliti, Penn Cambria's Evan Link, Tyrone's Ronnie Garbinsky and Portage's David Kephart - win titles at the D6-AA tournament. Dodson also gets his 100th win at the tournament. It is Garbinsky's fourth district title.
Cambria Heights' school board votes, 6-3, to open up the football job that was held by Justin Myers.
On the same night, Central Cambria boys basketball coach Steve Traino and Cambria Heights girls basketball coach Lee Stanek announce their retirements after losses in the district playoffs.
The No. 4 seeded Altoona boys basketball team upsets No. 1 seed Hollidaysburg in the D6-AAAA semifinals. It is the first time this group of Altoona seniors ever beat the group of Hollidaysburg seniors in basketball.
Juniata College women's basketball team beats Scranton for the Landmark Conference title and advances to the NCAA D-III tournament.
Winning a District 6-AAA wrestling title is Altoona's T.J. Brandt. Winning District 5 wrestling titles are Bedford's Brian Gibbons and Ryan Easter, Chestnut Ridge's Shane Pfaunmiller and Tyler Dibert, Northern Bedford's Dan Sollenberger, Matt Sollenberger, Joel Suter, Quinton Hixson and Willie Sollenberger.
MARCH
The Altoona girls beat State College in the D6-AAAA title game on the same night the Altoona boys lose to State College in their title game.
Hollidaysburg beats Lewistown in the girls D6-AAA title game.
The BG girls beat Homer-Center in the D6-A championship game. BC boys beat Northern Cambria in the D6-A boys title game. Northern Bedford loses to Windber in the D5-A girls title game.
District 6-9 swimming championships are won by Altoona's Danielle Parowski, Hollidaysburg's Mace Long and Cambria Heights' Nick Galczynski. Area swimmers who advance to states are Altoona's Parowski and Alex Cummings, Hollidaysburg's Sarah Kaneshiki and Long, Central's Drake Dodson, Cambria Heights' Galczynski, Central Cambria's Kelsie Conrad and Huntingdon's Matt Bair.
Juniata College beats Gallaudet in the first round of the NCAA D-III women's basketball tournament. However, it loses to Greensboro in the second round.
Winning a regional title in wrestling from District 6 is Penn Cambria's Evan Link.
The Tussey Mountain boys basketball team loses in the District 5-AA finals to North Star.
The Tussey Mountain boys basketball team, Northern Bedford girls and Altoona boys all lose in the first round of states in play-in games.
The Altoona girls basketball team, along with Bellwood-Antis' and Bishop Carroll's boys basketball teams are eliminated in the first round of the state playoffs.
Medaling at states in wrestling are Penn Cambria's Evan Link, Claysburg-Kimmel's Ty Dively and Corey Aungst, Bedford's Ryan Easter, Central Cambria's Shane Morris, Ben Rager and Tony Risaliti, Northern Bedford's Joel Suter and Quinton Hixson, Tyrone's Ronnie Garbinsky and Portage's David Kephart
The Penn State men's basketball team plays Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game where it loses but still qualifies for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001. Pitt is named a No. 1 seed in the Southeast region of the tourney.
-The St. Francis women's basketball team wins the NEC tourney for the second year in a row, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
The Penn State wrestling team wins the national championship under first-year coach Cael Sanderson.
The Hollidaysburg girls and Northern Cambria boys basketball teams are eliminated in the second round of states, while Bishop Guilfoyle wins its second state game and moves on to the Elite 8 round.
Penn State's men's basketball team is knocked out in the first round of the NCAA tourney, losing at the buzzer to Temple, 66-64. Pitt is beaten in the second round by Butler.
The BG ice hockey team makes it to the title game in the LMHL against Richland where it beats the Rams, 3-0.
Altoona swimmer Danielle Parowski makes all-state status at the PIAA championships in two events by finishing eighth out of 32 swimmers in the 200 freestyle. She also finishes in the top 8 out of 32 in the 100 freestyle.
The BG girls basketball team beats Monessen and Homer-Center to advance to the state title game against Steelton-Highspire where it loses.
APRIL
Legendary Penn State football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, who retired in the late 1990s, is under investigation by the state's attorney general's office for improper contact with a teenage boy.
The Blair County boys and girls basketball teams both lose to the Central PA all-stars at the sixth annual Mirror Classic.
In the Mirror high school basketball awards category, Bishop Guilfoyle's Halee Adams is girls player of the year, Hollidaysburg's Jordan Swauger is boys player of the year, Hollidaysburg's Deanna Jubeck is girls coach of the year, while Northern Cambria's Dan Weber is the boys coach of the year.
Receiving all-state status in high school basketball are Central Cambria's Zach Vigneault and Hollidaysburg's Jordan Swauger, as well as Bishop Guilfoyle's Halee Adams.
The Altoona Curve lose their 2011 season opener, 3-2, at Erie.
Legendary Altoona Parochial League and Bishop Guilfoyle junior high football coach John Conlon passes away at the age of 80.
Altoona graduate Terry Shea runs in the Boston Marathon and finishes 23rd overall. He has the seventh best American time in the race, too.
The Penn State men's basketball team releases freshman Taran Buie from his scholarship, freeing him to go to another school.
The Altoona School Board announces that this coming fall, it will introduce a pay-to-play for student-athletes, charging them $50 to play.
With their first pick in the NFL Draft, the Steelers select Ohio State defensive lineman Cameron Heyward.
Penn State's Stefen Wisniewski is drafted in the second round by the Oakland Raiders.
MAY
Tussey Mountain's Peter Riley, a senior, wins his third District 5 tennis title in a row. The Titans also win the team title, and Thomas Keifman and Joram Schrama win the doubles title, making it a clean sweep of District 5. However, they fall in the first round of states to Hampton.
Winners of the Altoona Mirror Senior Bowler of the Year Tournament are Steve Monahan, Ken Gilley (Over 70s champ) and Nee Nee Fagley. Brenda Miller and John Turiano win the women's and men's Altoona Mirror Bowler of the Year Tournament titles.
The Penn State Altoona baseball team wins the AMCC championship and qualifies for the NCAA Division III tournament, where it goes 1-2.
Central Cambria's Jana Klezek (girls basketball) and Pat Stock (softball) are both retiring at the end of the current school year.
Penn State men's basketball coach Ed DeChellis resigns and announces he will become the new men's basketball coach at Navy.
Altoona's Wade Endress and Penn Cambria's Jess Delic win the Altoona Mirror's male and female Athlete of the Year awards.
Lew Ewart, who coached many sports at Northern Bedford High School, passes away at the age of 73 from cancer.
The Altoona boys volleyball team loses to State College in the District 6-AAA title game.
In the D5-AA baseball final between Bedford and Everett, Bedford wins, 3-2.
The Northern Cambria boys volleyball team beats Forest Hills in the District 6-AA title game. It is Northern's first year playing organized boys volleyball. They lose in the first round of states to Dover.
Taking home top-3 medals from the PIAA state track and field championships are Tyrone's Nick Patton, Northern Bedford's Maria Snyder, Bellwood-Antis' Brian Leap, Central's Derek Nothstein, Altoona's Wade Endress and Huntingdon's Jeremy Posey.
June
Winning District 6 baseball titles are Central in AA and Bishop Carroll in A. In the D5-A title game, Tussey Mountain loses to Salisbury-Elk Lick.
Winning District 6 softball titles are Claysburg-Kimmel in A ball and P-O in AA ball.
The Penn State men's basketball program hires Patrick Chambers, the head coach at Boston University and former Villanova assistant, to replace Ed DeChellis.
In the first round of states, the C-K softball team is eliminated as is Chestnut Ridge. The Central, Bedford and Bishop Carroll baseball teams all win their first-round games, as do the P-O and Central Cambria softball teams.
Tussey Mountain's Jordan DeLuca is drafted in the 47th round of the MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson is inducted into the National Collegiate Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Altoona graduate John Snyder is a member of the Marietta College baseball team, which wins the NCAA Division III national title.
Bishop Carroll loses its second-round playoff game in baseball, as does the Central Cambria softball team. Central beats Bedford in baseball to advance to the state semifinals, as does the P-O softball team.
P-O beats Burrell in the state semifinals in softball to advance to the Class AA title game on the same day Central baseball team loses to Riverside in the Class AA semifinals. The Lady Mounties go on to win the state championship.
JULY
Winners of the 37th annual Hollidaysburg Area YMCA July 4 race are A.J. Kelly (15K male), Annie Cekada (15K female), Shane May (5K male) and Maria Snyder (5K female).
Pat Boland, a radio personality in the State College area who covered Penn State sports for 20-plus years, dies of cancer at the age of 42.
Armen Gilliam, the one-time men's basketball coach at Penn State Altoona, dies at the age of 47.
Scott Lyttle and Janel Holcomb win the men's and women's overall titles at the Tour de 'Toona.
For the first time since the 1992 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates (47-43) are above .500 at the MLB All-Star break.
The Altoona Teener Major League title goes to Tom Dickey Law, while McMullen Furniture wins the Teener Minor League trophy.
Claysburg wins the Cambria American Legion title.
Dick's Pharmacy wins the Kelley Federation League title over ReMax Realty.
Dean Patterson wins the Dean Patterson Little League World Series title over Furry Friends.
The NFL lockout ends at the end of July, and the Steelers return to Latrobe for camp.
In a pennant race in the NL Central, the Bucs acquire sluggers Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick for the stretch drive.
AUGUST
Red Bull goes 2-2 at the national AAABA tournament in Johnstown.
Joe Paterno suffers a hairline fracture of the hip and his arm in a practice accident involving wide receiver Devon Smith, but he does return to practice several days later.
Penn State wrestler Andrew Long is charged with rape.
Penn State football player Kevin Newsome announces he is leaving the team.
BG girls star basketball player Halee Adams, a junior, has knee surgery and could miss a good portion of the upcoming 2011-2012 season.
Brant Clouser, a graduate of Altoona and Villanova, signs a free agent contract with the New York Giants as an offensive lineman. However, he is cut right before the end of the preseason.
It is announced that Penn State football player Stephfon Green will not play for the team for the 2011 season. Several days later, the team votes to bring him back on to the squad.
Tyrone quarterback Steve Franco receives a scholarship to play Division I football at the MAC's Akron University in the fall of 2012.
September
Penn State opens its football season with a 41-7 win over Indiana State
Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby holds a press conference announcing that he does not know if he will be healthy enough to open the season, which begins in one month.
The Pittsburgh Steelers open the season with a 35-7 loss at Baltimore.
The Pittsburgh Pirates lose to the St. Louis Cardinals for loss No. 82, which means it will suffer its 19th straight losing season, the longest of any professional sports team in North America.
Legendary local runner Angie Gioiosa dies from cancer at the age of 72.
The Pirates finish the MLB season at 72-90, a 15-game improvement over the 2010 season.
October
Hollidaysburg's Mariah Turiano wins the District 6 Class AAA singles tennis title.
It is announced that the University of Pittsburgh will leave the Big East and join the Atlantic Coast Conference next season.
Central Cambria's Max Kirsch is the individual champion for the Central Cambria boys golf team as it wins the District 6 championship. Kirsch does not make it out of regionals.
The Bedford boys golf team team wins the District 5 Class AA team title. However, the Bisons do not get out of the regional round.
Everett's Brady Smith wins the District 5 individual golf title. However, he does not make it out of regionals.
Tyrone's Greg Ferguson and Olivia Stever both qualify for the PIAA state golf championships with their showings at the District 6 meets. However, they do not place at the two-day event.
Northern Bedford's Maria Snyder wins the District 5 singles tennis tournament.
The Central girls tennis team wins its first ever Mountain League and District 6 Class AA team titles. They lose in the first round of states.
The Hollidaysburg girls tennis team wins the District 6 Class AAA team title. The team wins its first-round state game, but comes up short in the second round.
The Bedford girls tennis team wins the District 5 Class AA team title. It loses in the first round of states.
Maria Snyder of Northern Bedford wins the District 5 girls cross country championship, while the Bedford girls team wins the team title.
The Altoona boys win the D6-AAA cross country title, while the Central Cambria girls win the D6-AA title. Korey Replogle of Altoona wins the boys AAA title.
NOVEMBER
Hollidaysburg loses to State College in the D6-AAA boys soccer title game.
Altoona loses to State College in the girls D6-AAA volleyball title game.
The Bedford boys soccer team wins the District 5-6-AA championship and loses in the first round of states.
Bishop Guilfoyle wins the District 6-A volleyball title on the same day that the Huntingdon girls win the D6-AA title game. They Lady Marauders made it all the way to the semifinals before bowing out to Clarion.
Hollidaysburg's Mariah Turiano and Northern Bedford's Maria Snyder lose in the first round of states at the PIAA singles tennis championships.
Altoona's Korey Replogle and Dylan Mountain and Central Cambria's Alyssa Brandis receive all-state status by finishing in the top 25 at the PIAA Cross Country Championships.
Former Penn State football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky is arrested and arraigned on 40 criminal counts pertaining to child sex charges. Penn State administrators Tim Curley and Gary Schultz are accused of perjury involving the investigation of Sandusky by a grand jury. A day after the indictment hits the papers, Curley and Schultz both resign. Two days later, Joe Paterno is fired by the board of trustees, as is school president Graham Spanier. Assistant coach Mike McQueary is placed on administrative leave. Tom Bradley is named the interim head coach.
The Juniata football team ends its season with a victory, ending a 23-game losing skid.
The AAHS School Board votes 6-3 to open up the high school football coaching job held by Tom Palfey for the past three seasons.
Everett football coach Tom Waltman steps down as head coach.
Tyrone beats Richland in the District 5-6-AA football championship.
Bellwood-Antis loses to Penns Manor in the District 6-A football championship.
The Penn State football team finishes the regular season at 9-3 after a loss to Wisconsin.
December
Tyrone beats Hickory in the first round of the PIAA Class AA state high school football playoffs. In the semifinals, the Golden Eagles advance to the state finals with a win over previously unbeaten Aliquippa. Against Lancaster Catholic in the state championship game, Tyrone falls, 17-7.
After just one year at the helm, Pitt football coach Todd Graham quits to take the head job at Arizona State. He is replaced by Paul Chryst, offensive coordinator at Wisconsin.
Tyrone football coach John Franco and Golden Eagle quarterback Steve Franco, are voted The Associated Press Class AA coach and player of the year.
Central Cambria wrestler Tony Risaliti records his 100th win of his career in a match against Mount Union.
