Happy New Year’s Eve, folks!

With 2024 winding down, it’s time for Onward State’s annual tradition of looking back at the year by choosing one photo to represent each month. This was an eventful year in Happy Valley, so let’s take a look back on the year together.

January: Storm Chasing

Mike Rhoades earned the first court storm of his tenure as head coach of Penn State men’s basketball after the team defeated then-No. 11 Wisconsin in front of a home crowd. This wouldn’t be Rhoades’ last court storming of the year, but it set the tone for the direction the program was headed.

February: THON Sets Records

For the third consecutive year, THON broke its all-time fundraising total. After a weekend of bubble-blowing, Zamboni-mopping, and a whole lot of dancing, THON 2024 raised $16,955,683.63, all For The Kids.

March: Wrestling Dominance

Penn State wrestling continued its streak of dominant seasons. In early March, Penn State crushed the competition at the Big Ten Championship. Later in the month, the season concluded with the team breaking the all-time record for points in a national championship win.

April: Luke Combs Makes History

In April, country music superstar Luke Combs made history as the first artist in years to perform at Beaver Stadium, amassing a crowd of over 80,000 fans: the largest in Combs’ career.

May: Baseball Makes A Run

Penn State baseball made a historic underdog run to the Big Ten Championship in May. After barely qualifying for the tournament and earning the lowest seed, the team upset No. 1 seed Illinois and No. 4 seed Michigan before finally losing in the championship game to No. 2 seed Nebraska.

June: Juneteenth

A mostly empty State College was briefly revitalized with the fifth annual Juneteenth celebration, which took place downtown and featured food and live performances.

July: Colorful Valley

Thousands of students, alumni, and art enthusiasts alike flocked to State College in the middle of the summer for the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, or “Arts Fest” as it is more colloquially known. The streets were filled with live music, handcrafted art, and summer smiles.

August: Welcome Home

Penn Staters from around the world all flocked back to Happy Valley for another year of school, repopulating the dorms, lawns, and bars of State College.

September: ‘White Out…Energy’

James Franklin not-so-subtly encouraged fans to wear white to Penn State’s homecoming matchup against then-No. 19 Illinois. The fans delivered, self-organizing a full-stadium White Out without any official theme indication from the team.

October: Political Fervor

Pennsylvania was the center of America’s political attention during the buildup to the 2024 presidential election. Thus, there were a number of political rallies and protests in State College from both of the major political parties, including a visit from then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.

November: Volleyball Back On Top

For the first time under head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, Penn State women’s volleyball clinched a share of the Big Ten regular season title. The Nittany Lions did so by upsetting powerhouse Nebraska, a feat they duplicated in December on their way to a national championship.

December: Playoff Bound

For the first time in program history, Penn State made the College Football Playoff. The Nittany Lions were seeded as the No. 6 seed and dominated SMU at home to advance to the Fiesta Bowl against Boise State.