College Football Saturdays are something special across the United States. Beaver Stadium, home of the Penn State Nittany Lions, is known as a Bucket List place to be on game day. The location is also home to one of the most famous college football events, the White Out. While this is not meant to knock other college football stadiums, Penn State plays somewhere special. So this brings on the question, does Beaver Stadium have the best atmosphere in college football? Or at least does it have the best one in the Big Ten?
Beaver Stadium Size
The Penn State Nittany Lions play their home games at the second-largest stadium in the United States. While it is a 63-year-old stadium, it has gone through numerous expansions. The current capacity is 106,572. The only stadium that is bigger is Michigan Stadium which seats 107,601. Not only is it the second-largest stadium in the United States, but it is the fourth-largest in the world. With a stadium of this size, it is no wonder why Penn State football games have such a strong atmosphere.
Penn State takes the field for the Indiana stripe-out game – Joe Hermitt
Despite being the second largest stadium, many feel they need to expand again. Each year, students race for tickets, and many never get any. With such high demand, it is easy to believe that the atmosphere on game day is electric. With the College Football Playoff expansions beginning in 2024, schools will begin to host games.
Penn State will be a school expected to host games, which means the school is planning on a Beaver Stadium expansion. This may not be a great thing for the students, as there will be a loss of some seats, but it will be adding suites. It will be helpful for the school, but it will make getting tickets a tad more difficult. Luckily this does mean that Penn State fans will be even more excited to be in attendance.
The White Out
The annual Penn State White Out may be the most important argument for if Beaver Stadium has the best atmosphere. Other schools have their traditions, but the White Out is a common bucket list item for every sports fan. If it is not on someone’s list, well, then it should be. Each year, the school will hold one game held at night where the entire stadium of spectators will dress entirely in white.
While some people may believe fans would want to face a team they know they know they could beat, Penn State fans would say otherwise. The students, and general fanbase, want the challenge. They want to beat the teams like Michigan on their home field in the biggest game of their regular season. This year, the 2023 Penn State White Out will be held on September 23rd vs Iowa. The game is always played at night, making the choice of opponent much stricter.
Penn State White Out – Photo by Mark Selders
No matter the opponent, the game will be an exciting one. There are a number of thrilling moments throughout the history of the Penn State White Out. In order to argue that Beaver Stadium has one of the best atmospheres, a more recent example comes to mind. In the 2019 season, the Penn State Nittany Lions faced the Michigan Wolverines for their White Out. On the first play of the game, the stadium was so loud that Michigan had to use a time-out. The full video can be watched here.
There are a number of other theme nights that Penn State holds, such as the Stripe-Out. No matter what theme it is, Penn State fans will be participating. Maybe it is difficult to argue that Beaver Stadium has the best atmosphere in all college sports, but it can definitely be argued in at least the Big Ten. There are numerous stadiums that have a clear home-field advantage. Penn State is one of those teams that can put up a fight against even the best teams when they are at him.
