No. 5 Penn State gets ready for Iowa game; ‘whiteout’ is planned

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — The face of Penn State football is a senior citizen who often rolls up his khakis and jokingly abhors modern conveniences like e-mail.

But gradually, the program has crafted a gameday image that they hope transcends iconic coach Joe Paterno.

The formula blends well-orchestrated theatrics, like the all-stadium “Whitehouse” for this weekend’s Big Ten opener against Iowa, to factors beyond its control, namely a student section so rabid that diehards camp out on pavement outside Beaver Stadium for a week to claim the best seats.

Oh, and winning helps, too. No. 5 Penn State (3-0) is in the national title hunt once again.

“There’s something about it, the whole business about the ’whiteout.’ It’s a bringing together of the whole institution, not only the undergraduate kids, but you see people out there that will be old men, maybe 60,” the 82-year-old Paterno quipped this week.

“It’s great to be a part of it, and I think the kids feel that way, too.”

The Nittany Lions have been playing big games for 44 years under the leadership of Paterno, who has guided the school to two national championships and five undefeated seasons. Bowl organizers love the school’s loyal, national fan base.

The program is the closest thing to a major league sports team in rural central Pennsylvania. Generations of alums travel hours to help pack the 107,000 plus-seat stadium.

But the Nittany Lions’ road to success hit a speed bump earlier this decade.

Four losing seasons in five years led some fans to wonder whether the game had passed Paterno by. Diehards spoiled with success were stunned as losses piled up.

Around 2003, those involved in game day festivities were talking about potentially spicing things up at Beaver Stadium.

One idea they tried in 2004 was a student “whiteout” against Purdue. All 20,000-plus in the student section were urged to wear white.

“There was always the desire to lose the symphony crowd and get into a crowd that had a little more definitive home field advantage that could be sustainable,” said Guido D’Elia, director of communications and branding for the football program. “No one was really sure how to go about that.”

Until Oct. 8, 2005, that is, when the overflow crowd of more than 109,800 packed into creaky Beaver to watch Penn State’s dramatic 17-10 win over Ohio State.

At night, on national television, the sheer white of the frenzied student section created a lasting impression, their energy fueling the rest of the fans.

“The fans were wanting it, and wanting to participate more. Students were more geared into the team aspect,” said D’Elia, who assumed his current post in 2004 after being connected with the program in some capacity since 1973.

“The combination of losing prior [to 2005], and what we were doing to help facilitate it, started all coming together when the team started to win in 2005, and we built on it,” D’Elia said.

To the point where Penn State now typically has one student whiteout and one all-stadium whiteout, known as the “whitehouse” each season. A crowd full of fans dressed in white Penn State gear creates a surreal glow as lights beam down on the field.

It’s unclear exactly which school first urged its fans to dress in the same color scheme, though the gimmick has now become commonplace, especially after the 2005 Ohio State-Penn State game.