Jan. 22, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State and New York City-based MSL Sports and Entertainment today announced that the university will host Gridiron BashTM The Ultimate Fan CompetitionTM as part of Blue-White Weekend, April 18-20, 2008. The event - the first of its kind at Beaver Stadium - will take place on Friday, April 18, the eve of the annual Blue-White football game, and include a live performance by Grammy® and VMA winner Fergie of Hip-Hop group The Black Eyed Peas (Fergie is also a Grammy nominee this year). "Fergie" was also recently named top female performer by the American Music Awards. At the core of Gridiron BashTM is a fan contest --The USA TODAY Bash for Cash SeriesTM -- that will establish which of the participating schools has the most passionate and supportive fans. The USA TODAY Bash for Cash SeriesTM winners will be determined by adding up the total paid attendance at the Gridiron BashTM event and combining that with the number of fans who text/call in to vote for their school. The USA TODAY Bash for Cash SeriesTM winning university will receive a $1 million contribution to their scholarship fund, with 2nd and 3rd place schools receiving $500,000 and $250,000 respectively. Presentation of the winning schools will be aired live in conjunction with a soon-to-be-announced national television partner. "Since the Gridiron Bash was introduced to us, we've been committed to finding a way to make it work," stated Director of Athletics Tim Curley. "Not only does the Bash bring additional excitement and world-class entertainment such as Fergie to our traditional Blue-White Weekend, but it gives our tremendous student, alumni and fan base an opportunity to shine and rally behind the challenge of earning $1 million dollars for deserving Penn State student scholarships." Ticket information for the Gridiron Bash activities will be available soon online at GoPSusports.com. Parking for the event can be purchased at the same time as Gridiron Bash tickets, and Saturday's Blue-White Game will remain free to all who wish to attend.
Gridiron Bash activities inside the stadium are expected to begin at 7 p.m. Friday and the kickoff for Saturday's Blue-White game is scheduled for 2 p.m. Updates on all events and times for Blue-White Weekend will soon be available at www.GoPSUsports.com, the official website of Penn State Athletics. A Blue-White game record crowd of 71,000 attended the 2007 contest, continuing the tradition of large audiences for the Penn State spring football contest. At least 40,000 fans have attended nine of the past 12 Blue-White games, with rainy conditions during the other three contests. Joe Paterno is entering his 43rd season as head coach with 19 returning starters (9 defense, 8 offense, 2 specialists). During the 2008 campaign, the Nittany Lions will face eight teams that played in bowl games this past year, including five at home: Oregon State (Sept. 6), Illinois (Sept. 27), Michigan (Oct. 18-Homecoming), Indiana (Nov. 15) and Michigan State (Nov. 22).
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