It is fair to say not all is positive in Happy Valley in 2025.
What began as a season full of promise for Penn State football quickly turned disappointing — even with several games still to play. A wave of change already hit the Nittany Lions (3-4, 0-4 Big Ten).
First came quarterback Drew Allar’s season-ending injury, which also ended his career at Penn State. Then, former head coach James Franklin was dismissed midseason after more than a decade leading the program.
Together, those developments ushered in what feels like a new era for the program, but it couldn't have arrived at a worse time.
Expectations were sky-high for the Nittany Lions in 2025, and the weekly disappointments continue fracturing their fanbase. They're in desperate need of a big moral boost.
Rebuilding won’t be easy without support from the blue and white faithful, long regarded as one of the best fanbases in college sports. Penn State will need to win its supporters back before it can truly move forward as a unit.
The road back to the top won’t be swift, and restoring the program's reputation will require time and patience as the program adapts to a new era.
Through this tough time, wins will likely be harder to come by. Athletic director Pat Kraft may have only one path to reignite interest: breaking from Penn State tradition and revamping the program’s game-day identity.
New uniforms, new fan experiences, and, ultimately, a fresh identity for one of college football’s most tradition-rich teams can foster a greater interest in the Nittany Lions.
The shift already started.
Penn State recently ended its long-standing partnership with Nike, signing with Adidas for athletic apparel in a move that came just before the on-field changes began.
The switch received mixed reviews due to the end of a long partnership, but it also opened new possibilities. In recent week, for example, fans already speculated about new game themes and uniform combinations with the Adidas partnership underway.
These uniform combinations include "Generations of Greatness: Military Appreciation" and "Throwback Original: Breast Cancer Awareness" themes.
The Military Appreciation variant pairs the Nittany Lions' white helmet and white pants with a blue camouflage-printed jersey. The Breast Cancer Awareness jersey suits Penn State's players up in an all black uniform head-to-toe, including the helmet. The helmet's decals, jersey number, Nittany Lions logo, stripes, and Adidas logo would be pink. The gloves would also match the black fit with pink highlights.
These themes appeared in 2024's schedule. Against Kent State and Illinois, the Nittany Lions had a Military Appreciation and Generations of Greatness games lined up, respectively. They paired with the traditional White Out and Stripe Out games well-known to Beaver Stadium.
New promotions can create new levels of stadium dynamics and atmospheres that get fans excited. No matter what the on-field results are throughout the season, fans will be more inclined to show up and show out for their team with fresh ideas.
If the program resists adding more uniforms out of respect for its deep-rooted tradition, that’s understandable. But there’s one fan tradition it should absolutely bring back.
Before the White Out, there was a call for fans to wear blue in a showing that laid the groundwork for one of college sports’ most iconic traditions. The history behind Penn State's all-blue crowd is rather fascinating, and started with a 2002 student-run operation for a game against Nebraska.
Since the game against the Cornhuskers, Penn State tried to have an all-blue crowd for future seasons, called the Code Blue game, which didn't catch on. The Nittany Lions finally settled on the first White Out in 2004 instead.
In one of the program’s most difficult stretches, Penn State should revisit that early tradition and bring Code Blue back to Beaver Stadium.Bringing this back would resonate with longtime fans while still giving the program a fresh identity and new spark not associated with action on the field.
While no plans have been announced and this is all talk, Penn State’s administration should explore game-day promotions that reconnect the fanbase with the team because ultimately, those two need each other.