April in State College means trees are beginning to bud, Penn State students are begining to cram for finals, and thousands of people are heading this way for the annual Blue-White fun fest.
The big show is the Blue-White football game, Saturday at noon. The game is free and there is no charge for parking. Stadium lots will open at 8 a.m. and you can bet that big crowds of tailgaters will be out there early. Don’t forget to dress warmly — we’re expecting cool weather.
Security at the stadium will be heavier than in past years, thanks to the Boston Marathon bomb attack. The biggest change is that no one will be allowed to carry bags into the stadium.
Backpacks, umbrellas, footballs, strollers, purses or diaper bags are all banned.
Those items are also banned at all other events, including the NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships in Rec Hall, being held Friday-Sunday.
Football is king but there are a ton of other events in and around the stadium. A carnival will start Friday at 6 p.m. Wingfest also begins at 6 p.m. Fireworks are scheduled to take place near the stadium at about 9 p.m. Friday. The event stage west of the stadium will include performances by popular local music groups Velveeta, 6-8 p.m. Friday, and JR and Natalie Band 2:30-4:30 p.m. Saturday.
The carnival continues Saturday from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. and again on Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
The Nittany Lion Club’s Blue-White breakfast on Saturday will feature coach Bill O’Brien and the 2013 Nittany Lion seniors. The event will be held in the Bryce Jordan Center and is open to the public. The doors open at 8 a.m. and the program begins at 8:30 a.m. Tickets are $20.
The traditional autograph session with football players at Beaver Stadium has been replaced. A new event is billed as the OneTeam autograph session. It runs from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Saturday. You’ll be able to get autographs from student-athletes representing at least 11 Penn State teams, including men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s hockey, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming and diving and women’s gymnastics. The autograph session will be held in the area west of Beaver Stadium near the event stage. A OneTeam poster will be available for fans to have signed.
The Penn State chapter of Uplifting Athletes will be selling “Iron Lion” T-Shirts in the area west of the stadium throughout Blue-White Weekend, with proceeds going toward the football team’s Penn State Lift For Life for the Kidney Cancer Association. Members of the Nittany Lion football team have raised more than $700,000 for kidney cancer awareness and assistance since 2003.
Also on Sunday, the fourth annual Beaver Stadium 5K Run/Family Fun Walk to benefit Special Olympics Pennsylvania begins at 11 a.m. at the stadium, with the finish inside the stadium. Penn State football great Franco Harris is the official race starter. Harris will be given the first-ever Special Olympics Pennsylvania Community hero Award. The award recognizes a member of the Penn State football family who has shown support for the Special Olympics.
The Penn State All-Sports Museum at the Southwest Corner of Beaver Stadium will be open Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m-4 p.m.
Ten Penn State teams are competing at home during Blue-White Weekend.
The No. 1 Nittany Lions will host NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships in Rec Hall. The sessions are Friday 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Penn State will be seeking its 13th NCAA Men’s Gymnastics championship. Here’s the complete sports line-up:
Friday, April 19
NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championship team qualifying session No. 1, 1 p.m.
Men’s Tennis vs. Michigan, 3 p.m.
Men’s Volleyball vs. Rutgers-Newark, 5:30 p.m.
Baseball vs. Iowa, 6 p.m.
Softball vs. Northwestern, 6 p.m.
Women’s Soccer vs. Syracuse, 6 p.m. (exhibition)
NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships team qualifying session No. 2, 7 p.m.
(Penn State competes in qualifying session No. 2)
Saturday, April 20
Men’s Golf hosts Rutherford Intercollegiate, 7:30 a.m.
Blue-White Football Game, 12 p.m.
Men’s Soccer vs. Navy, 4:30 p.m. (exhibition)
Men’s Volleyball vs. NJIT, 5:30 p.m.
Baseball vs. Iowa, 2 p.m.
Softball vs. Northwestern, 4 p.m.
NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships team finals, 7 p.m.
Sunday, April 21
Men’s Golf hosts Rutherford Intercollegiate, 7:30 a.m.
Women’s Tennis vs. Michigan State, 11 a.m.
Baseball vs. Iowa, noon
Softball vs. Northwestern, 1 p.m.
NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championship individual finals, 2 p.m.
