Campus Life

Decades of showing support from the stands

Photo gallery shows similarities, differences in crowds cheering on Penn State football team through the years

Fans in 1939 at New Beaver Field, which was located on the site where Kern Building and the Nittany Parking Deck are today. The Nittany Lion football team played at New Beaver Field from 1909 to 1959. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

The student section at New Beaver Field in 1954, with Gov. John S. Fine and Penn State President Milton Eisenhower joining the crowd. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

Football fans in the stands at Beaver Stadium in 1961. The stadium moved to its current site in 1960, and has since more than doubled in size. Many of the students in this picture are wearing "freshman dinks," which were small beanie caps that first-year students wore to distinguish them from the rest of the student body from 1906 through the late 1960s. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

The Nittany Lion joins students in the stands in 1968, sporting a fad hairstyle of the era. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

The Nittany Lion joins fans in the stands at Beaver Stadium in 1976. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

Fans cheer for action on the field in 1986. The Nittany Lions went on to win the national championship that year, defeating Miami 14-10 in the Fiesta Bowl. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

Students cheer on the Nittany Lions in 1998. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

The Nittany Lion crowdsurfs in the student section at Beaver Stadium in 2003. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

The student section during a Penn State White Out game in 2013. The Penn State White Out tradition started in the student section in 2004 and eventually involved the entire stadium beginning in 2007. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn State. Creative Commons

Fans in 1939 at New Beaver Field, which was located on the site where Kern Building and the Nittany Parking Deck are today. The Nittany Lion football team played at New Beaver Field from 1909 to 1959. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

The student section at New Beaver Field in 1954, with Gov. John S. Fine and Penn State President Milton Eisenhower joining the crowd. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

Football fans in the stands at Beaver Stadium in 1961. The stadium moved to its current site in 1960, and has since more than doubled in size. Many of the students in this picture are wearing "freshman dinks," which were small beanie caps that first-year students wore to distinguish them from the rest of the student body from 1906 through the late 1960s. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

The Nittany Lion joins students in the stands in 1968, sporting a fad hairstyle of the era. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

The Nittany Lion joins fans in the stands at Beaver Stadium in 1976. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

Fans cheer for action on the field in 1986. The Nittany Lions went on to win the national championship that year, defeating Miami 14-10 in the Fiesta Bowl. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

Students cheer on the Nittany Lions in 1998. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

The Nittany Lion crowdsurfs in the student section at Beaver Stadium in 2003. Credit: Penn State University Archives / Penn State. Creative Commons

The student section during a Penn State White Out game in 2013. The Penn State White Out tradition started in the student section in 2004 and eventually involved the entire stadium beginning in 2007. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn State. Creative Commons

In 2004, fans in the Beaver Stadium student section were asked to wear white during the game against Purdue in an effort to rally the football team out of a slump. While the Nittany Lions lost that day, the unified fan support took hold and led to full-stadium Penn State White Outs beginning in 2007. But even before this annual tradition, fans have bonded together in the stands for decades in support of the Nittany Lions, donning the fashionable trends of their era as shown in this photo gallery. 

Founded in 1855, Penn State has a long history of traditions and values that make up the fabric of who we are as a community. Learn more about the University's traditions on the Penn State Traditions page.

Last Updated September 1, 2023

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