UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa - Saturday night's Penn State White Out showcased the greatest atmosphere in college football with 110,830 in attendance to watch the No.7 Nittany Lions dominate No. 24/22 Iowa, 31-0.
The second-largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history was graced with a unique experience both inside and outside the stadium gates. However, it's the people behind-the-scenes that set the stage for fans to have an incredible time at Beaver Stadium.
Rebecca Plescia is a director of marketing and fan experience and orchestrates a number of different things that the average fan wouldn't notice. Working alongside Dana Crouse, Plescia evaluates how content on the big screen will look and organizes a full run through of everything a day before the game.
On game day, Plescia arrives at Beaver Stadium at 9:30 a.m. and organizes the signature white shakers that have become a stadium staple. Penn State's trademarked phrase, "The Greatest Show in College Football" became a small detail Plescia added to the shakers. Having an impact on people's game day experience is what Plescia calls the "best part of my job."
"Putting on a good atmosphere and experience for the student athletes is why I do what I do," Plescia said. "It's exciting for us to know that all the hard work pays off when everybody gets in here and enjoys themselves and you see the shakers and people yelling and everything."
Danielle Ryan's White Out day starts at 4 a.m. when she gets to Beaver Stadium. Ryan is another one of the directors of marketing and fan experience and organizes the Beaver Stadium Block Party on Curtin Road.
Ryan meets with vendors around 5 a.m. and plays a part in everything fans see on Curtin Road leading up to kickoff. Ryan coordinates all inflatables, the food trucks and has booked numerous bands in an effort to enhance the live music experience for fans.
"Someone once said, 'we're in the business of making memories' and that's exactly how I love to explain what I do," Ryan said. "It's really important when you can have an impact on someone's day or it's a little kid going to the game for their first time or someone who hasn't been around in a while. Then, they leave and they just want to keep coming back so it's a very special feeling."
The eye in the sky from a control room inside Beaver Stadium is run by Dave Bittner who's the stadium's operations coordinator. Bittner and his team monitor parking, events staff, the movements of both teams and everything in between around the stadium.
Bittner's day began around 6 a.m. but the process of preparing for the White Out is a year-round endeavor. The surrounding area of Beaver Stadium is filled with hundreds of thousands of people and it's Bittner's job to manage it all.
"We are the third biggest city in the state on game day here," Bittner said. "We'll have 110,000 people in the stadium, probably about 20,000 to 25,000 more out in the parking lots. Obviously it takes a huge effort of anywhere from 2,500 to 2,700 event staff personnel here to help us coordinate all that. That's parking attendants, ticket takers, ushers, concessionaires, and everything in between."
When Rodney Martin started calling Penn State club hockey games 24 years ago, he never thought he would be the PA announcer for the White Out. Martin got a call from Crouse about the opportunity to become the PA and was "over the moon" about the chance to work alongside his long-time friend Joe Putnam.
Martin's had this day marked down for a long time and regarded the White Out as an "incredible spectacle." Martin has been inspired by his older brother throughout his life and expressed how Saturday's game will be a "surreal" experience.
"I've been looking forward to this ever since I found out," Martin said. "This would always be a dream of mine to do. Ever since I found out that I would be a part of the announcing team here, this was the day I had circled on my calendar…Because you just see this year, after year, after year and just the incredible spectacle it is and just to be a small part of that. I'm really looking forward to it."
