The new Sports Illustrated magazine doesn't hit stands until Wednesday, but the cover is already causing controversy.

It states, "We Were Penn State." PSU students are calling it a slap in the face.

When the Blue and White rush the field during a Penn State football game, Michelle Borek describes the feeling:

"It's the ultimate Penn State experience," said Borek, a 2010 graduate who is studying for a second degree in occupational therapy. "Everyone knows at Penn State football games. Everybody has a blast."

The NCAA overstepped with its sanctions, Borek said.

"We did have a great team," said Borek. "Joe Paterno was a great leader, and I'm sorry, you just can't erase wins. You can't do that."

When Borek read the Sports Illustrated headline aloud, she said, "Wow."

Many students at Penn State are huge football fans, but even those who aren't say the Sports Illustrated cover still hurts.

"It does make me upset because I don't think something like this should really take away from all the good stuff Penn State is known for," said Derek Beu, who is studying genetics and developmental biology at PSU's Berks campus.

Beu said the good stuff is not the football team, but the academics, and that's why he said he wears a shirt that says, "I bleed blue and white."

"I still do," Beu said.

"I just went to the bookstore and I bought myself some shirts, but we are always going to be Penn State," said Nathaly Herrera, a developmental and family studies major.

The scandal will not affect Herrera's goal of becoming a Penn State graduate, she said, and Borek agreed.

"We are Penn State, and we always will be," said Borek. "We will remain strong because we are Penn State."