Of Onorato, Penn State and Pitt: Campaign Addresses Football Brouhaha

So, really, just how badly does gubernatorial nominee Dan Onorato want Penn State and Pitt to renew their football rivalry?

Let’s step back a few days.

When he appeared at a forum Monday at Penn State University Park, the Allegheny County Democrat joked and said restoring the gridiron rivalry was a top priority on his gubernatorial agenda. Over at the Penn State Alumni Association, someone relayed the lighthearted moment via Twitter this way:

‘(Onorato) also mentioned that the appropriations for Penn State and Pitt will be contingent on renewing the rivalry.’

A variety of news organizations — including The Daily Collegian, Onward State, the Centre Daily Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and StateCollege.com — were on hand for the event, and none appeared to take Onorato’s quips literally. (StateCollege.com certainly did not, though we noted that Onorato has voiced general support for a renewal of the rivalry. He graduated from both Penn State and Pitt.)

But then came Wednesday. That morning, Examiner.com posted this report, which appears to take Onorato’s Monday statements about the football rivalry — and state appropriations — very literally.

The Examiner.com piece caught fire, going viral across the web. It’s been tweeted, retweeted, blogged, commented on and gossiped about.

So, we at StateCollege.com wondered: Did we — along with the Collegian, Onward State, the CDT and the Inquirer — miss something that huge?

We called up the Onorato office in Pittsburgh. We asked campaign Communications Director Brian Herman.

‘Something like that (tying state appropriations to a football rivalry) is definitely not what his priority is,’ Herman said Thursday afternoon, referring to his boss.

‘There are a lot of issues involving higher education that he considers a priority,’ including affordability, accessibility and workforce preparedness, Herman went on.

But withholding state funds to force a football rivalry?

That isn’t among the objectives that Herman named.

Earlier coverage

• Onorato at Penn State: Harrisburg Should Strengthen Higher-Ed Support (Oct. 26, 2010)