Sept. 2, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; September 2, 2007 - The large and loud Penn State student section has delivered on several Beaver Stadium white outs over the past three years, earning notice across the nation for their enthusiasm and solidarity.
For the first time, all Nittany Lion fans are being asked to wear white for the highly-anticipated clash with Notre Dame on Saturday. Kickoff is at 6:00 p.m. in Beaver Stadium and ESPN will televise the sold out contest to a national audience.
The more than 107,000 tickets for the game were printed in white. More than 50,000 white shakers, courtesy of PHEAA, will be distributed for the all stadium white out.
On Friday, the Blue & White Society and Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics are teaming up to host a "Rally in the Valley" football pep rally at 8 p.m. in Rec Hall.
Head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lion football team, the Penn State cheerleaders, Lionettes dance team, the Blue Band, and the Nittany Lion mascot will all participate in the pep rally and help ready students, alumni and friends for the next day's football game.
T-shirts and prizes will be given away at the pep rally courtesy of the Penn State Bookstore and Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. The Bus (93.7 FM) radio station is the media sponsor for Rally in the Valley.
The Penn State faithful will be pumped up and primed at the "Rally in the Valley" in anticipation of the widely anticipated and sold out Penn State-Notre Dame clash in Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions will be facing the Fighting Irish in a primetime contest that will be televised to a national audience by ESPN. The Penn State Sports Network will broadcast the game, which can also be heard at www.GoPSUsports.com, the official website of Penn State Athletics.
Notre Dame will be making its first visit to Happy Valley since 1991. The Irish took a 9-8-1 series lead by winning in South Bend last season.
Penn State and Notre Dame rank among the Top 10 teams in the nation in victories. The Nittany Lions have 781, good for a tie for sixth place with Alabama, and the Irish are second with 820.
A trio of Penn State teams will be competing at home Friday prior to the pep rally. At 6:00 p.m., the women's volleyball team will host St. John's in Rec Hall, with the pep rally to follow. The men's soccer team has its home opener, facing William & Mary at 5:30 p.m. and the field hockey team will host James Madison at 6:00 p.m.
Coach Joe Paterno began his 42nd season as head coach of the Nittany Lions Saturday, as No. 17 Penn State defeated Florida International, 59-0, in Beaver Stadium for its 100th victory in a season opener. The Lions are 100-19-2 in openers overall; 35-7 under Paterno. Penn State has posted shutouts in three of its last six games and 38 times overall under Paterno.
The Blue & White Society is the student membership of the Penn State Alumni Association. For more information about the pep rally, contact the Blue & White Society at 814-863-GOBW (4629), the Penn State Alumni Association at 814-865-6516 or Penn State Athletic Communications at 814-865-1757.