Why July 25 May Be Remembered as the Night Penn State’s Next Great Movement Found Its Voice
July 15, 2026
There are evenings that raise money. And then there are evenings that remind us who we are. I have a feeling that Saturday, July 25, 2026, may be remembered for the latter.
At first glance, it looks like another summer fundraiser: a buffet dinner, a silent auction, some familiar Penn State faces, another nonprofit asking for support. I don’t think that’s the story at all. I think something much bigger is happening.
A Movement Began With a Few People Who Simply Cared
A few years ago, a small group of Penn State alumni looked around and noticed something they couldn’t ignore. Penn State’s adaptive athletics program had lost momentum. A program once filled with promise had been slowed by the pandemic, leadership transitions, and changing priorities. The athletes deserved better.
Instead of waiting for someone else to solve the problem, they did something that feels unmistakably Penn State. They volunteered. They organized. They gave. They recruited others. They believed.
Rise Above wasn’t created because Penn State needed another nonprofit. It was created because a handful of alumni refused to let opportunity disappear. Like so many great Penn State stories, it didn’t begin with a strategic plan. It began with people, people who cared enough to act.
Look Around the Room
Now fast forward to July 25. More than 500 people are expected to gather at The Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center. Before the evening begins, take a moment and simply look around the room.
You’ll see Sue Paterno, Dana Harris, and Terry Smith. You’ll see adaptive student-athletes and Paralympians. You’ll see Matt Campbell, Mike Rhoades, Steve Jones, and Mike Reid. You’ll see Penn State Lettermen, business leaders, families, volunteers, students, alumni, and friends.
At first glance, it looks like an impressive guest list. Look a little closer. It is something far more meaningful. It is a snapshot of the Penn State family.
Sue Paterno has spent decades demonstrating that leadership begins with service. Dana Harris continues Franco Harris’ lifelong commitment to bringing people together around something bigger than ourselves. Terry Smith has shown what loyalty looks like when leadership is needed most. Matt Campbell, in just a few short months, has already begun reconnecting generations of Penn State Lettermen around a common purpose. Mike Reid reminds us that Penn State develops people whose influence extends far beyond the playing field.
Different stories. Different generations. Different careers. One shared set of values.
Maybe We’ve Been Looking at Adaptive Athletics the Wrong Way
Perhaps adaptive athletics isn’t asking Penn State to become something new. Perhaps it is inviting Penn State to become more fully what it has always aspired to be.
Think about the values that have defined this University for generations: The Grand Experiment. Success With Honor. A land-grant mission dedicated to teaching, research, and service. The belief that athletics can help educate the whole person. The conviction that leadership is measured not simply by achievement, but by how we lift others.
Adaptive athletics doesn’t compete with those ideals. It reflects them. It strengthens them. It reminds us why they mattered in the first place.
Imagine a Penn State Where…
Imagine a Penn State where adaptive student-athletes compete at the highest collegiate and Paralympic levels. Imagine engineering students designing adaptive technologies that improve lives around the world. Imagine faculty from medicine, kinesiology, education, engineering, health sciences, recreation, and business working together to advance adaptive sport through research and innovation.
Imagine youth throughout Pennsylvania discovering adaptive athletics through camps, clinics, and community programs. Imagine veterans finding new pathways to health, confidence, and connection through sport. Imagine Penn State becoming nationally recognized not only for athletic excellence, but for advancing opportunity, inclusion, innovation, and human potential. Imagine universities across America looking to Penn State as the model for what adaptive athletics can become.
That isn’t simply about building successful teams. It’s about building a movement. It’s about creating an ecosystem where athletics, education, research, innovation, health, and community engagement all work together to improve lives. That feels very Penn State.
This Is About More Than Sports
When we talk about adaptive athletics, it’s easy to focus on scholarships, equipment, travel, or facilities. Those things matter, but they are not the destination. They are tools.
The real destination is opportunity. Opportunity for a young athlete to proudly wear the Blue and White. Opportunity for a researcher to develop the next breakthrough in adaptive technology. Opportunity for future teachers, physicians, engineers, therapists, and coaches to learn alongside remarkable student-athletes. Opportunity for Pennsylvania to become a national leader in adaptive recreation and sport. Opportunity for Penn State to once again demonstrate what leadership looks like.
Why This Night Matters
Some people will attend because they admire Sue Paterno. Some because Terry Smith is speaking. Some because they want to meet Coach Matt Campbell or Mike Rhoades. Some because Mike Reid is performing. Some because they were invited by a friend. Some because they believe deeply in adaptive athletics.
Every one of those reasons is enough.
Because every person who walks through those doors becomes part of something larger than a dinner. They become part of a conversation, a vision, a community, a movement.
The Beating Heart of Penn State
Marketing experts often tell us that a brand is intangible, a collection of opinions, a reputation. I don’t entirely agree. Sometimes a brand becomes tangible. Sometimes you can hear it, feel it, experience it.
Walk into the room on July 25. Listen carefully. Watch the conversations between coaches and student-athletes. Watch alumni reconnect. Watch volunteers welcome guests. Listen to Terry Smith. Listen to Steve Jones. Listen to Mike Reid. Watch the adaptive student-athletes proudly introduced as Penn State competitors.
You’ll experience something difficult to describe but impossible to miss. You’ll hear the beating heart of Penn State.
We Are…
For generations, Penn Staters have gathered and proudly finished the same sentence: We Are…
Most people immediately think of the second half, Penn State. But maybe those words have always meant something even deeper. They speak to belonging, to community, to responsibility. To showing up for one another. To believing that our greatest accomplishments happen together.
That is why I don’t believe July 25 will be remembered because of the buffet dinner, the silent auction, or even the remarkable speakers and guests. I believe it may be remembered as the evening a community recognized an opportunity much larger than a single program, the evening adaptive athletics stopped being viewed as simply another initiative and started being understood as another expression of the Penn State spirit.
Great universities don’t simply respond to the future. They help create it.
Perhaps this is Penn State’s next opportunity to lead. Perhaps years from now we’ll look back and realize that what seemed like just another summer evening was actually the night a movement found its voice. And maybe, just maybe, when more than 500 Penn Staters gather on July 25, the answer to “We Are…” will feel more meaningful than ever.
Because families make room for everyone.
Join the Penn State Family on July 25
Rise Above: Friends of Penn State Adaptive Athletics Saturday, July 25, 2026 The Penn Stater Hotel & Conference Center
5:30 p.m. Reception, Coaches Mix & Mingle & Silent Auction 6:30 p.m. Buffet Dinner and Program
The evening features:
- Terry Smith, keynote speaker
- Sue Paterno and Dana Harris, hosts
- Introduction of Penn State’s Adaptive Student-Athletes
- Matt Campbell, Penn State Head Football Coach
- Mike Rhoades, Penn State Men’s Basketball Coach
- Steve Jones, moderator of the “We Are Family” Penn State Letterman Panel
- Mike Reid, Grammy Award-winning songwriter and Penn State Football Letterman
- Silent auction featuring unique Penn State memorabilia and experiences
Whether you purchase a ticket, host a table, become a sponsor, or donate an auction item, your participation helps strengthen a vision that extends far beyond one evening.
For tickets, sponsorship opportunities, or silent auction donations, visit www.RiseAboveAbility.com.
Movements don’t begin with programs. They begin with people who choose to show up.
