Penn State Wrestling: Could the Nittany Lions Ever Host a Beaver Stadium Dual Meet?

Cue Will Ferrell playing Harry Caray, “I know I would! Heck, I’d have seconds. And then polish it off with a tall, cool Budweiser.”

Exactly, Harry. Exactly.

Getting back on track, by now everyone has seen Carter Starocci‘s tweet.

There have been rumors for several years about Penn State hosting a dual meet at Beaver Stadium. It’s something that makes the rounds on social media and amongst groups of friends hanging out and talking wrestling.

The reason is simple. Of course that would be an awesome event!

Many years ago the field at Beaver Stadium was used for football and football only. Virtually nothing else.

But recently, Beaver Stadium has been used for many non-football events such as TopGolf and the recent electric Luke Combs concert. So it makes sense that a dual meet would be next on the wish list.

Furthermore, hosting a collegiate wrestling dual meet in a football stadium isn’t unheard of.

Back in mid-November 2015, the Iowa Hawkeyes hosted Oklahoma State and shattered the attendance record in the process.

The previous record was 15,996 set by the Nittany Lions in December of 2013. Iowa drew 42,287 fans to their outdoor dual.

Given the timing of this theoretical dual meet and given the opponent, Penn State could probably double that number.

However, there is one lingering question surrounding the ground-swell of hype around a Beaver Stadium dual meet.

Could the Nittany Lions actually host a dual meet at Beaver Stadium?

Obviously the short answer is “Well, sure they can”.

But I have my reservations at whether this comes to fruition for Penn State Wrestling and for the Nittany Lion faithful.

Why Penn State Wrestling Hosting a Beaver Stadium Meet is Problematic

Issue No. 1 – Using the turf for a non-football event during the football season

Yes, I know I just said that Iowa did this exact same thing. But, no other big wrestling schools have attempted it before them and it’s been nine years since it happened.

And there’s a reason for this as well. Football coaches don’t want people messing with their stadium and their field during the year. Especially when their field is made of real grass. Kinnick Stadium’s artificial turf set the stage for a record-setting crowd and eliminated one of the biggest hurdles to Penn State Wrestling aiming to surpass it.

James Franklin has been a huge proponent for Penn State Wrestling since he stepped onto campus in 2014. However, when push comes to shove, do you think he will give the final green light for a dual meet?

Another factor is the 2024 football schedule. However, in reality, it’s actually very favorable.

The Nittany Lions host Ohio State on November 2nd and they host Washington on November 9th. Penn State is then on the road for the next three weeks (including a bye) and they host Maryland on November 30th to wrap up the regular season. So, in theory this should be plenty of time to set up a dual meet and get the grass ready for the next home game.

But again, the decision is going to come down to James Franklin.

Issue No. 2 – Would Cael Sanderson want Penn State to host a dual meet at Beaver Stadium?

Since the Nittany Lions first hosted Pitt in the Bryce Jordan Center on December 8th 2013, there has been a BJC dual meet every year. Additionally, the 2022-2023 season saw two dual meets (Michigan and Iowa) in the cavernous confines of the Bryce Jordan Center.

But it’s no secret that all parties involved in Penn State wrestling don’t exactly look forward to the BJC duals ever year. This includes the coaching staff and some diehard Nittany Lion fans who would never miss a dual in Rec Hall.

Wrestling a dual meeting at Beaver Stadium brings about another factor. And as regimented as Cael Sanderson is with his team, is this something he would actually want to do?

Adding another factor to the equation essentially adds risk. None of the talented Nittany Lion wrestlers can win an NCAA title in November. But they sure as heck could lose one if they get injured.

Based on this, do you think Cael would give the green light?

Issue No. 3 – The weather

Weather in Happy Valley is anything but consistent and for the majority of the year, it’s anything but nice.

That is unless you like cold, rainy, grey, and windy weather for days at a time. Of course, the summer and fall seasons are nice but that’s only five months of the year.

This issue, at least for me, is basically “Issue No. 1”, “Issue No. 2”, and “Issue No. 3”. Because once the calendar flips to mid to late October, the weather in Centre County takes a nose dive straight towards “horrendous”.

Trying to host a sport that requires perfect mat conditions in November at University Park is a recipe for disaster. Now, maybe they have some plan to cover or add a temporary roof over the mat, but this seems unlikely.

Obviously, the athletic department could luck out and the weather could cooperate, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be cold. And when I say “cold” I’m talking about cold relative to wrestling temperatures.

Even 60 degrees would be chilly inside of Rec Hall and I’m sure the wrestlers would feel it. And that’s without any wind involved.

It is absolutely 100% necessary for wrestlers to get a good warm-up in before any action on the mat. This is to ensure their body is loose, their muscles are firing, and their flexibility is at its best.

The dual meet at Kinnick Stadium had unseasonably warm temperatures for Iowa City in November (mid-50s). So they really lucked out.

Here in Happy Valley, there would be a significantly better chance the temperatures be below 40 rather than being mid-50s.

That is very cold temperatures to wrestle in. Trying to catch your breath in the cold, the effect of the cold temperatures on their muscles and joints, and how it would affect the sweat on their bodies and on the mat is something to consider.

So forget everything I just said and let’s say Penn State goes through with this. What kind of contingency plan are you going to have in place for 60,000-70,000+ fans who bought tickets and the weather forecast is 100% terrible.

You can’t move that indoors anywhere to accommodate that many people and shifting the date of any collegiate sporting event is incredibly challenging. Especially when you consider the fact that the weather could be really bad in Happy Valley for extended periods of time.

So again, what kind of contingency plan would Penn State have in place?

My only answer to this question is “I have no idea”.

And given how risk-averse Penn State University appears to be in certain areas, my money is on there not being a dual meet at Beaver Stadium anytime soon or ever.

But, the thought of it is very enticing and it’s endlessly fun to discuss amongst wrestling fans.