Recreation Building, better known as Rec Hall, is a historic, 96-year-old facility on the Penn State campus that is still the primary home venue for the men’s and women’s volleyball teams, the men’s and women’s gymnastics squads and the wrestling team.
Since 2013, the Penn State men’s basketball program have played select games in Rec Hall to recapture the history, high-energy and intensity that the 6,846-seat venue provides for basketball games. They are called the ‘Return To Rec’ games.
This year, Rec Hall is hosting Big Ten opponent the Wisconsin Badgers on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7:00 PM. The game will be televised on Fox Sports 1 (FS1).
The Nittany Lions have a 3-2 record in the ‘Return To Rec’ series. On Dec. 14, 2013, they hosted Princeton. The game ended up being an overtime thriller, and Penn State lost to the Tigers 81-79. Then during the 2015-2016 season, PSU hosted Canisius and Louisiana Monroe and won both games 81-67 and 54-50, respectively. No. 12 Illinois came to experience the aura of Rec Hall and left disappointed after being upset by Penn State 90-89 in February 2024. Last year, Ohio State handled the raucous environment and beat PSU 83-64. Penn State’s overall record at Recreation Building is 517-185.
Even though the men’s basketball program’s new home, the 15,261-seat Bryce Jordan Center seats 8,415 more fans than Rec Hall, the electricity and close proximity to the court at Rec Hall in unmatched. The Nittany Lions defeated Wisconsin, 79-50, in their final Rec Hall game on Jan. 7, 1996.
