OWNER

Penn State Football

CONFERENCE

Big 10

VENUE(S)

Lasch Football Building

DESIGNERS

Populous

Shield Lockers

MANUFACTURER

Shield Lockers

COMPLETION DATE

2016

FEATURES/SCOPE

125 football training lockers

PLAYER LOCKER SIZE

33″ W x 25″ – 50″ D x 118″ H

The first 100% solid surface locker

In 2015, Penn State football and KC-based sports design firm Populous approached Shield about creating a first-class locker, the likes of which the industry had never seen.

Challenge accepted.

Penn State’s athletics staff were all too aware of the proverbial “Athletics Arms Race” consuming collegiate athletics, which is redefining how Division I NCAA sports programs were competing for top recruits across the nation. State-of-the-art facilities are not only an unmistakable magnet for new recruits, but an opportunity to create a new locus of culture and player development for the whole team – a hub of education, training, conditioning, competition, and identity for student-athletes. Such an investment demanded a locker that could take the abuse of college athletes and look good doing it.

Penn State and the design team understood the longevity and design aesthetic of solid surface material – clean and modern appearance, incredibly durable, and waterproof. And they were told it couldn’t be done. Shield worked collaboratively with Populous and the university’s athletic department to design and construct 125 of the first ever all-solid-surface football lockers. Shield’s solid surface manufacturing patents and expertise helped bring this one-of-a-kind design to life, including the complex jersey number lighting system that highlights the nameless jerseys worn by the Lions.

In total, 125 lockers found their new home throughout the Lasch Football Building. Penn State football had been reborn. Coach Franklin led the Nittany Lions to a Big 10 Championship in 2016, and a Fiesta Bowl win in 2017.