onwardstate.com

What is Onward State?

Onward State is a student-run online news organization covering Penn State and the surrounding State College, Pennsylvania area. It serves students, faculty, staff, alumni and local residents with news, features, opinion and sports coverage, and it is best known for fast, frequent updates on Penn State athletics and campus life.

What it covers

• Athletics, especially Penn State football, plus men's and women's hockey and other sports, including injuries, awards and game-day logistics.
• Campus and student life, including Greek life, downtown State College, THON and university news.
• Features, opinion and lighter items, along with press releases and podcast content.

How it works

Stories are typically short, timestamped and published throughout the day, with named student writers. The site also distributes through Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube, and offers an email newsletter, so readers can follow it socially rather than checking the homepage.

Who it suits

• Penn State students and alumni who want quick campus and sports updates without a traditional newspaper format.
• State College residents tracking local events, traffic-generating games or downtown news.
• Visiting fans looking for game-day information such as events around a football weekend.

The trade-off is depth: breaking-news posts may be brief and updated over time, so for major university decisions or investigative context, compare with the university's official channels or a established regional outlet.

A practical next step: if you mainly want Nittany Lions sports, follow Onward State's football topic feed or newsletter rather than the full homepage, which mixes athletics with campus and entertainment stories.

How can I find out about Penn State football injuries and player updates?

For Penn State football injury news and player updates, Onward State is a practical first stop. Its football coverage mixes breaking news with quick follow-ups, such as a report that wide receiver Koby Howard would miss an "extended period of time" (not season-ending), a later post noting he revealed a potential return date on his Instagram story, and a report that offensive lineman Will Tompkins was out for the season after an injury during pregame warmups.

The site is student-run and aimed at Penn State students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the State College area. That shapes its strengths: fast posts, approachable writing, and coverage of team news alongside campus life, athletics, and fan culture. It is less of a depth source for medical details or long-term roster analysis.

To use it well, follow the Football topic and check the Latest Stories feed rather than relying on one article. Injury news often arrives in stages: initial report, coach or player comment, then a return timeline. Compare those updates with official team communications before treating a timeline as firm.

If you want broader context, official Penn State Athletics releases are the authoritative source for confirmed statuses, while national outlets can add recruiting and scheme analysis. Onward State is best for timely, locally focused updates and for catching player social media posts that larger outlets may not cover immediately.

A simple routine: scan Onward State's football feed daily during the season, open posts about specific players, and note whether the language is confirmed, reported, or speculative. That distinction matters more than the headline when you are tracking a return date.

Where can I read about Penn State hockey's latest rankings and honors?

For Penn State hockey rankings and honors, Onward State is a solid place to start: its athletics coverage currently includes stories on the men's team's preseason All-Big Ten selection and its placement in the coaches poll, as well as a women's team injury update. That mix makes it useful for fans who want team news beyond just scores.

Onward State

A practical next step: check Onward State's Athletics topic page for the newest hockey items, then cross-check the official athletic department site for the full poll and award announcements, since student outlets often summarize what the university releases in full. If you follow both men's and women's hockey, expect coverage of both, but depth may vary by how newsworthy each team is that week.

What entertainment and downtown events are happening in State College?

Onward State covers downtown State College and campus entertainment as part of its regular beat, with a dedicated "Downtown" and "Entertainment" topic in its navigation. That makes it a reasonable first stop if you want a student-oriented read on what's happening around town rather than a formal events calendar.

What you'll actually find there

The site mixes straight news with lighter local color, so coverage of things to do tends to appear as short posts rather than a single listings page. Typical items include:

• Downtown and campus-adjacent events, promotions, and one-off happenings
• Athletics-related gatherings, such as fan events and team appearances tied to game weekends
• Student-life and Greek-life items that often double as de facto event notices
• Seasonal coverage, such as THON-related programming and other recurring campus traditions

Because Onward State is written by Penn State students, its event coverage skews toward what students would actually attend: cheap or free, walkable from campus, and often announced only days ahead.

A practical way to use it

If you're planning a weekend in State College, treat Onward State as a tip sheet rather than a schedule. Search the site for a specific date or event name, then confirm the details with the organizer, since student-reported event posts can go up quickly and change just as fast.

For cross-checking, the university's official news and events pages are the authoritative source for campus programming, and the borough or downtown business association publishes merchant-led downtown events. Local radio and newspaper outlets in State College also maintain community calendars worth comparing against.

How do I submit a press release or contact Onward State?

Onward State is a student-run news organization covering Penn State and State College, and it does publish press releases alongside its own reporting. The site's navigation includes a dedicated "Press Releases" topic and a "Contact" page, which are the two places to start.

Submitting a press release

• Use the Press Releases section listed in the site's topics menu to see how such items are presented and to judge whether your announcement fits.
• Route the submission through the Contact page rather than sending it to an individual writer, so it reaches the editorial team.
• Include the essentials up front: who, what, when, where, and a named contact for follow-up questions.
• Send text and images you have the rights to use, and note any embargo or timing restrictions.

Contacting the newsroom

The Contact page is the general entry point for questions, corrections, tips, and story ideas. For anything time-sensitive, say so in the subject line. If your item is a campus event, a club announcement, or a student-life item, it may fit better as a tip or feature pitch than as a formal release.

Practical considerations

Onward State is run by students, so response times can vary with the academic calendar, and not every submission will be published. A short, factual release with a clear news hook has a better chance than a promotional one. If you want a sense of the house style before writing, browse the latest stories and the press-release listings on Onward State.

As a next step, open the Contact page, draft a two-paragraph release with a headline and a media contact, and send it with any images attached rather than linked.

What is THON and how does Onward State cover it?

THON is Penn State's annual student-run dance marathon, a year-round fundraising effort that culminates in a no-sitting, no-sleeping event benefiting pediatric cancer research and treatment. It is one of the largest student-run philanthropies in the world, and for Penn State students it functions as a defining campus tradition: thousands join committees, raise money through canning and other drives, and pack the Bryce Jordan Center for the finale.

Onward State covers it as campus news rather than as a one-off event. The site runs a dedicated THON topic page alongside its other verticals, so coverage accumulates in one place instead of scattering across the homepage. Expect the pattern typical of student-run newsrooms: previews and fundraising milestones before the event, live updates and photo-heavy dispatches during it, and follow-ups on totals and standout stories afterward.

What that means for different readers

• Prospective students and parents: THON coverage is a useful window into student life and the scale of student organizing at Penn State.
• Current students: the topic page is a practical way to track committee news, schedules, and results without scrolling social feeds.
• Alumni: it is a low-effort way to keep up with an event tied to their time on campus.
• Journalists and researchers: Onward State's student-written archive can serve as a running record, though it is opinion-friendly and not a formal institutional source.

Trade-offs to keep in mind

Onward State is written by Penn State students and describes itself as serving students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the State College area. That gives it speed, familiarity, and cultural fluency on THON that outside outlets rarely match. The trade-off is the same one that applies to any student newsroom: staff turn over frequently, coverage can lean toward features and commentary, and depth varies by who is on the beat that semester.

If you want official fundraising figures, event rules, or registration details, go to THON's own organization first and use Onward State for context and campus reaction. If you want the student perspective and the day-to-day texture, start with the Onward State THON topic page at Onward State and follow its newsletter for updates.