Number 6 Penn State just finished celebrating the 20th anniversary of their annual White Out Game on November 9th against the University of Washington. This game is looked forward to by all, whether they are students, alumni, or just college football fans. The White Out Game is known throughout the entire college football community, and it is notably recognized as “one of the more raucous atmospheres that there is in college football” (York Daily Record). Although it is so famous, many wonder how this tradition began.
Even though it is hard to believe because of the major success that Penn State’s football program has now, the Nittany Lions had struggling seasons between the years 2000-2005, with only two winning seasons between those five years. So, in 2004, Guido D’Elia the director of branding and communications at Penn State came up with the concept of the White Out in order to achieve a livelier atmosphere at the large university (abc27). As a result, Penn State held its first ever White Out Game in 2004 against Purdue. Unfortunately Penn State lost 20-13, but D’Elia acknowledged that the marketing strategy seemed to work, due to the larger attendance and participation in the theme. The following year, Penn State held another White Out against one of their biggest rivals Ohio State, and won 17-10. From D’Elia’s creation, an ESPN sportscaster was convinced that “Penn State had “the best student section in the country”” (abc27).
Penn State’s win against Washington has led to their 10-6 win record during White Out Games. In fact, Beaver Stadium, home to the Nittany Lions, had its ninth largest attendance in its stadium history with 110,233 fans present this past weekend (gopsusports). Some of the most memorable White Out Games include the 2016 Penn State victory over number two Ohio State. This marked James Franklin, the current head coach for Penn State, first ever ranked win. After this momentous victory, the field became a sea of white, when all of the fans rushed onto the field to celebrate this historic win.
Another notable White Out-win includes the 2017 game against Michigan which ended with Penn State having a 29 point lead. In fact, this game would give Penn State an undefeated record 7-0 and later lead them to winning the Fiesta Bowl, an American College Football Bowl Game (abc27). Overall, the Penn State white out tradition is one of, if not the most notable traditions at Penn State and across the college football community.
