For my son, it was all about playing for the school who's t-shirt he wore home from the hospital when he was born. The kid was indoctrinated from birth to bleed blue and white! When he was in third grade, he even dressed up as Joe Paterno for his Halloween costume. He was also very lucky to have the other criteria he was looking for fit into his dream school:
1. They really wanted him on the team
2. Academics
3. Just the right distance from home (not too close, yet not too far)
But first and foremost...he just grew up loving Penn State, and wanted to be a part of it.