Fan Fest to Entertain Between Sessions of U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials at Penn State

A free festival will feature autograph sessions, exhibits, food and more during the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for wrestling this weekend at Penn State.

Fan Fest is set for 2 to 6 p.m. Friday and 1:30 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Pegula Ice Arena between sessions of the trials taking place across University Drive at the Bryce Jordan Center.

The festival is open to all and does not require a ticket to the trials, but, similar to the annual Fan Fest/WIN Magazine Fan Expo at the NCAA Championships, it will provide a convenient spot for the capacity crowd attending the competitions to be entertained, relax and get a bite to eat without moving their cars during breaks in the action.

On the arena floor (the ice has been temporarily removed) fans will be able to check out dozens of wrestling exhibits with college wrestling apparel, merchandise, memorabilia, training equipment, new products and giveaways.

A buffet with chef-prepared action stations, non-alcoholic drinks and a cash bar will be available on the Club Level, and other food and beverage options will be available throughout Pegula both afternoons.

Olympic medalists will be on hand for an autograph session from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Friday. That will be followed by a discussion with USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender with WIN Magazine’s Bryan Van Kley about the potential for expanding Olympic weight classes and the state of wrestling internationally from 4 to 4:30 p.m.

Three-time Penn State NCAA Champion and undefeated MMA fighter Bo Nickal will be signing autographs from 2:45 to 4:45 p.m. on Saturday. He and Pennsylvania Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick also will sit down with USA Wrestling head freestyle coach Bill Zadick for an interview about about how wrestling has impacted their lives from 3:30 to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

The FloWrestling Finals Show from 4 to 5 p.m. will get fans ready for the final rounds of the best-of-three championship series that will determine the U.S. Olympic team.

USA Wrestling also will have practices led by national team coaches in Pegula both days immediately after the first session.

FAN FEST SCHEDULE

Friday – 2-6 p.m.

2:15-3:30 p.m. – USA Wrestling Practice 

2:30-3:30 p.m. – Olympic Medalists Autograph Session 

4:00-4:30 p.m. – Discussion of expansion of Olympic weight classes, state of wrestling internationally with USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender with WIN Magazine’s Bryan Van Kley

Saturday – 1:30-6 p.m.

2:45-4 p.m. – USA Wrestling Practice 

2:45-4:45 p.m. – Bo Nickal Autograph Session

3:30-4:00 – Impact of Wrestling Discussion. USA Wrestling head freestyle coach Bill Zadick interviews Bo Nickal and Dave McCormick. 

4:00-5:00 – FloWrestling Finals Show

PARKING INFO

Parking for the Trials and Fan Fest will be prepaid only through ParkMobile. No day-of-event cash sales will be available. Fans may purchase from the following options via ParkMobile:

• Two-day parking package – https://psu.parkmobile.io/packages

• One-day parking and limited single-session parking for sessions 2, 3, and 4 – https://psu.parkmobile.io/bryce-jordan-center 

General parking passes are for the Stadium West, Jordan East and Porter North lots. Attendees should follow the directions of traffic signage, parking and traffic staff to be directed to the nearest open lot. Upon arrival, you may be directed to other parking areas at the discretion of Penn State Transportation Services.

Fans looking for parking for Session 1 only must purchase the two-day parking package or the Friday Sessions 1 and 2 parking package.

Parking purchases will be verified using each vehicle’s license plate, so fans must enter the correct license plate at purchase and drive that vehicle to the event.