What kind of Penn State football White Out in 2024? 'I want it all,' says James Franklin.
STATE COLLEGE — Penn State football nation wants to know when the White Out will be this fall.
Coaches James Franklin hears the questions, feels the impatience.
He said he does have some intel on a potential decision — at least at the moment, 2 1/2 months before the season starts — but won't open up.
“As you can imagine, if I could tell you I would," he said with a smile Thursday afternoon during his and the assistant coaches' annual June media availability in Holuba Hall.
"I have a pretty good idea of where I think it’s trending ... and the worse thing I can do is say one thing to you guys and then it changes," he said. "Or even by saying it to you guys it impacts the chance of that happening by pissing some people off. I don't want to do that."
There's some impatience surrounding the White Out because it is a destination event — Penn State's annual raucous, monochromatic, premier celebration of the Beaver Stadium schedule — and it is almost exclusively held at night.
Typically, White Out date, time and opponent are announced by now. The selection helps Penn State athletics determine the remainder of its home game themes, such as a military appreciation day. It allows fans to plan accordingly to attend what may be the only prime time home game of the season.
But so far, only one home kickoff time has been set, a noon start for the Sept. 7 nonconference game with Bowling Green. One other has been hinted at: the Sept. 28 meeting with Illinois, Penn State officials said, will start either in the late afternoon or evening, depending on a TV network decision yet to come.
That leaves undetermined home games against Kent State (Sept. 21), UCLA (Oct. 5), Ohio State (Nov. 2), Washington (Nov. 9) and Maryland (Nov. 30).
Can Penn State football still get to 'White Out' Ohio State?
In year's past, the White Out usually was held against one of the prestigious, biggest-drawing opponents on the schedule, and almost always held before potential cold temperatures arrived in November.
But now, more than ever, TV contracts and network decisions loom largest in the decision process. Fox, for example, has trended toward airing its first-choice, biggest audience-draw games at noon each week — just like Penn State's season-opener at West Virginia.
Look, too, at Nov. 2 in the Big Ten. Will TV execs ultimately choose Ohio State-Penn State or Oregon-Michigan for a late afternoon or prime time spot? The other probably will start at noon.
Do Penn State fans most prefer the White Out under the lights, even if against a less-attractive opponent?
At this point, though, who knows exactly which way this will go?
"I’m probably a lot like the fans ... I want it all," Franklin said of his desires for White Out planning. "Very few times in life do you get it all.
"You’d like the opponent and time-of-day, for sure. The time-of-day thing is what’s really become more difficult because of when prime-time games now are chosen. … Now, based on the different TV networks, it could be at 12, 7, or 3:30. You don’t know based on what they think is going to draw the most eyes."
Penn State has hosted 15 full-stadium White Out games since 2007, when Notre Dame visited for the first. Since, just one White Out has kicked off earlier than 3:30 p.m. — the Michigan game in 2015, which was played Nov. 21.
Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Will Penn State football play its White Out game vs. Ohio State?
