UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – One of the highlights of the Penn State sports calendar, the Blue-White Game presented by AAA, is set for 1:30 p.m. Saturday, April 12, as the centerpiece for activities throughout the weekend on the University Park campus.
The popular autograph session with the Nittany Lions returns for the Blue-White Game and will be held from 10:45-11:30 a.m. in Beaver Stadium. The players will be permitted to sign one item per person to give as many fans as possible an opportunity to meet the squad.
The team will arrive at the stadium at approximately 10:15 a.m. April 12 and stadium gates A and B will open at 10:30 a.m. Gates C, D and F will open at noon for the game.
The Penn State football gameday Fan Festival, with numerous displays, vendors and interactive events for kids, will begin at 9 a.m. and be located on Curtin Road near Beaver Stadium, as it is during the season.
Coach James Franklin’s Nittany Lions are in the midst of spring practice, with the 15 spring sessions culminating in the Blue-White Game. The contest will air on the Penn State Sports Network and air on BTN at 6 p.m. As in previous years, there will be no admission or parking fee for the Blue-White Game. Stadium parking lots will open at 8 a.m.
Fans will have an opportunity to purchase season tickets at the Blue-White Game and select their seats on April 12. Members of the Athletic Ticket office will be stationed at various locations in Beaver Stadium before and during the Blue-White Game to answer questions and show fans specific seat locations that are available for the upcoming season.
Approximately 1,700 new season tickets have been sold thus far for the 2014 campaign, including nearly 500 Recent Graduate (2010-14 graduates) season tickets, since the Recent Graduate program was announced in late January.
The Penn State women’s tennis team will be home during Blue-White Weekend, hosting Purdue (3:30 p.m. April 11) and Indiana (11 a.m. April 13). All the other Nittany Lion spring teams are on the road April 11-13.
The fifth annual Paterno Family Beaver Stadium Run/Family Fun Walk to benefit Special Olympics Pennsylvania is set for Sunday, April 13. Participants will finish at the 50-yard line in Beaver Stadium for the three-mile run or one-mile walk. For more information, go to www.specialolympicspa.org/beaver-stadium-run.
With the Penn State Coaches Caravan slated to kick off at the new Pegula Ice Arena on May 1, the Nittany Lion Club will not have a Blue-White Event this year the morning of the spring game. Coaches Caravan registration is under way for Nittany Lion Club and Penn State Alumni Association members. General public registration for the 17-event Penn State Coaches’ Caravan will begin at 10 a.m. Monday, March 31, and the registration link will be posted on www.GoPSUsports.com.
The Blue-White Game presented by AAA is the university’s unofficial annual spring reunion. The 2012 scrimmage drew an estimated 60,000 fans, the nation’s third-highest spring football game attendance. The Blue-White Game attracted record-breaking crowds in excess of 70,000 from 2007-09, topped by 76,500 at the 2009 contest.
The Nittany Lions open the season on Aug. 30 vs. University of Central Florida in Dublin, Ireland, at the Croke Park Classic. Penn State returns 41 letterwinners and 15 starters (seven offense, seven defense, one specialist) and will host Rose Bowl Champion Michigan State (Nov. 29), Ohio State (Oct. 25), Northwestern (Sept. 27-Homecoming) and Maryland (Nov. 1) during its 2014 Big Ten home schedule. The Nittany Lions will play a trio of 2013 Top 10 teams this fall.
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