‘Beyond inspiring.’ How Penn State is building back its adaptive athletic program

Adaptive Athletics isn’t new to Penn State, but many still don’t know it exists.

What started in 1999 was reinstated in 2023 after shutting down for three years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. When Adaptive Athletics was placed back under Intercollegiate Athletics’ purview nearly two years ago, Brenna O’Connor became the program’s director and has been focused on building it back up.

Now, her goal goes far beyond wanting to make sure Penn Staters know about the program. She wants it to have an impact beyond the university community as well.

“Not only do we want to be back in the game, but we believe Penn State should be one of the forerunners [in adaptive athletics],” O’Connor said.

But she’s not on this mission alone.

With the support from Rise Above (a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the program), the Penn State athletic department and its first student-athletes since the restart, the program has big plans for the future — and they’re beginning to take shape.

A new era of sports

Adaptive sports, also known as para sports, are continuing to gain traction across the country. Athletes with physical impairments are receiving more opportunities to compete, and Penn State has jumped on the movement.

“I see adaptive sports as the Title IX of its era,” Chuck Sypula, the founder and chairman of Rise Above, said.

The 2024 Paris Paralympic games occurred in the weeks following the Summer Olympic Games. Competing in the same venues and earning those podium finishes highlighted how adaptive sports is on track to changing the perception of what an athlete is and should look like.

Sypula attended the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing and called the experience “life-changing.” He went with Teri Jordan — who was the original coach for Penn State’s program from 1999 until 2020 when she retired — and Maggie Redden, a Penn Stater who competed.

“It’s just overwhelming to see the courage of these kids and these athletes and the dedication they have to this sport,” Sypula said. “It goes beyond inspiring for me and that’s really got me on the path of really appreciating this whole culture.”

Penn State has a history of Paralympians — Redden isn’t the only one. Brandon Lyons and Shawn Morelli competed this summer in Paris, but Nittany Lions have competed in the 1984, 2004, 2008, 2016 and 2020 games as well.

“Penn State adaptive athletics are part of our history, part of our fabric,” said Brandi Stuart, deputy athletic director for competitive excellence and student-athlete wellness.

Stuart helps guide the decisions and help direct the program and advises O’Connor as a sports administrator, which is no different than what she would do for any of Penn State’s other athletic teams and coaches.

“[Other adaptive athletic programs across the country] weren’t built overnight and neither was this one, you’ve got to build incrementally,” Stuart said. “When you build a house, you build it brick by brick and that’s the same thing that we have to do here.”

It starts with one

Max Malec is that first brick.

At the third annual Penn State Sled Hockey Classic last month, he became the first recruit to sign with the program. Penn State men’s hockey head coach Guy Gadowsky and his team was by Malec’s side at that moment, signifying crucial support.

Malec, from North Pocono, PA, was born with spina bifida, which is a neural tube defect that happens when the spine and spinal cord don’t form properly during pregnancy.

At 11 years old, he was introduced to sled hockey and started playing with the State College Coyotes two years ago. DJ and Alexis Wilson started the Coyotes program in 2016 and have helped O’Connor and Rise Above with recruiting. The Coyotes started with only enough equipment for 10 players but its grown to two teams that compete all over Pennsylvania.

“They’re kind of like our feeder program,” O’Connor said. “That’s their world so we rely on them to point us in the right direction if they see someone that has an interest in Penn State.”

But it was never a question on where Malec would end up — O’Connor didn’t need much convincing to get him on board.

“I’ve always known I wanted to come here since I was a little kid, so it was an easy decision,” Malec said after he put pen to paper and made his commitment official. He will start at Penn State in the fall after graduating high school this spring.

Penn State’s program now has a face, and Malec has no problem filling that role. O’Connor has been on the recruiting trail and has nearly a dozen recruits from all across the country. There are over 20 universities with adaptive athletics programs, but sometimes students’ options can be limited.

“What I learned is that in the adaptive world, it’s such a close-knit community,” O’Connor said. “People are reaching out to me because the word is out that Penn State is back in the playing field and now they don’t have to think about having to go to Alabama or Michigan or Arizona or Illinois, Clemson, all these other places — now Penn State is an option for them.”

O’Connor is trying to establish an all-Penn State sled hockey and wheelchair basketball team, and Malec is the first domino to fall. Because track and field is individualized, she said it’s easy to get going with that right away, but she wants to build this program to have opportunities for everyone.

“We want to be up there with the premiere adaptive athletic programs in the country and I believe that we are going to get there,” Malec said, in agreement with O’Connor’s vision.

Because Malec signed, more are expected to join him as the bricks solidify the program’s foundation. On Thursday, the program announced Jack Cunningham from Springfield, PA as its second athlete to sign.

“It’s not like where you go to another program and just a part of it,” Malec said. “Here you start everything, and that means a lot.”

Fundraising, fundraising and more fundraising

While O’Connor is recruiting athletes, Rise Above is recruiting donors.

The nonprofit is launching a fundraising campaign to generate more awareness and visibility for Penn State’s up and coming program.

“It’s a challenge,” Sypula said. “I’m learning that [fundraising] is an industry in itself.”

In August, Rise Above hosted a celebration and fundraising event at Pegula Ice Arena that honored past Penn State Paralympians and the opening of the All-Sports Museum’s Adaptive Athletics Exhibit.

Sypula and the rest of the advisory board have been working with current donors and are searching for new ones. The biggest hurdle, they said, is getting the word out.

But when word does get out, people show up and support the movement. During the Sled Hockey Classic, over $18,000 was raised and the Penn State student section of the arena was just as full as it would be for a Nittany Lions game.

“It’s such a compelling story when you combine their stories with the athletic element of this whole thing, it gets people’s attention and the support is there,” Sypula said on why he believes Rise Above’s fundraising initiatives will be successful.

Sufficient funding is necessary if Penn State wants this program to continuously grow and be sustainable as more athletes are expected to commit.

“I think our partnership with Rise Above is one step in that direction, because when you look at [adaptive athletics programs] across the country, they are very heavily endowed with donations,” Stuart said. “I’m talking about multi-million dollar donations.”

‘Needs to be recognized’

Brenna O’Connor is driven. She has a vision for what she wants Penn State’s adaptive athletics program to be and she’s doing everything in her power to make that happen.

Support from Penn State’s other varsity sports have been pivotal. Guy Gadowsky and the men’s hockey team have helped O’Connor increase its recognition. The team was right with Malec as he signed his letter of intent and celebrated that moment with him.

“I really get a little choked up because it adds a little bit of legitimacy,” O’Connor said. “I think when people see a team like Guy’s team behind them, it’s like, ‘hey we can get behind that.’”

Athletes with physical disabilities don’t want pity, they want to be viewed like any other athlete competing at the highest level, because that’s what they’re doing, O’Connor said.

“We’re capable of doing things that able-bodied athletes are doing,” Malec said. “We’re capable of being world class athletes and that needs to be seen and that needs to be recognized.”

That’s why O’Connor is passionate. She took over the program because she didn’t want those opportunities for these athletes to vanish.

But it takes time, it takes money, it takes a face of a program to fully embrace this movement, and O’Connor has helped put Penn State in the right direction.

“If she had her way, we would be full-go tomorrow and I support her in that however, we’re not quite there yet but we will get there,” Stuart said. “And the day we do, I’ll be really excited to see her face.”

Visit gopsusports.com/adaptive-athletics for more information and to donate to Penn State adaptive athletics.

This story was originally published February 16, 2025 at 5:00 AM.