College GameDay Set for Old Main Lawn

College GameDay is coming back to Old Main lawn for the second straight year.

ESPN announced that its college football pregame show will set up shop at the signature campus location this weekend ahead of Penn State’s White Out clash with Ohio State.

GameDay will arrive on Wednesday night to start set production, which will close Pollock Road between Carnegie and the McAllister buildings until approximately Saturday night at 6 p.m.

College Football Live will air from the set on Friday at 1:30 p.m. SportsCenter segments throughout Friday and Saturday will also be filmed on the set. Fans will have an opportunity to take photos with a replica GameDay set on Thursday and Friday from approximately 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For fans trying to get into the pit behind the stage for the show, ESPN has set the following regulations:

• Fans may begin lining up for access to the pit Saturday at 5:30 a.m., with the pit being open at approximately 6:30 a.m. (no overnight camping)
• Fans entering the pit will be screened by security using metal detection wands
• No bags, backpacks or purses are permitted
• No offensive, vulgar, inappropriate or solicitation signage will be allowed (i.e., no political, religious, or .com, .org, .net signage)
• No signs or flags on a stick
• No pens, pencils, markers or dry erase boards
• No food or drinks
• Throwing of objects is prohibited

The network announced on Saturday night it would send the crew back to Happy Valley. In previous trips to Penn State games, College GameDay set up shop by the Bryce Jordan Center just outside Beaver Stadium, but shook things up ahead of last year’s White Out game against Michigan.

Lee Fitting — ESPN’s Vice President of College Sports — publicly stated that he wanted to set up shop on Old Main Lawn before last year’s location was announced.

Initially, there were mixed reactions from Penn State fans — citing the pros and cons of the location. In the end, his wish was granted to roaring success at the heart of campus.