It’s not confirmed yet but based on a social media post from one of its stars, it looks like Penn State wrestling could be making its Beaver Stadium debut this fall.
A day after announcing his PSU return, four-time national champion Carter Starocci sent a post to X (formerly Twitter).
“Now let’s sell out the Beaver Stadium in November 👀” Starocci wrote.
Now let’s sell out the beaver stadium in November 👀
— Carter Starocci (@carterstarocci) May 2, 2024
It’s unclear yet what this means. On the one hand, it’s likely that Starocci, one of the best wrestlers in Penn State history, would have advanced knowledge of something like this. It’s also possible that Starocci was moreso calling for Penn State wrestling to be given the chance to compete in the school’s legendary football home. Regardless of what Starocci meant, it would make sense for Penn State wrestling to make its Beaver Stadium debut.
The program’s No. 1 rival, Iowa, hosted the “Grapple on the Gridiron” in 2015, taking on Oklahoma State.
Penn State’s athletic director, Pat Kraft, has also been open about wanting Beaver Stadium to be used for more than just football games.
“We’re going to do everything to keep that thing up and running, but we’ve gotta find other ways to use it,” Kraft said at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis two summers ago, weeks after officially taking over for the retired Sandy Barbour as AD. “That building should be used more than seven days (a year), in my opinion. We have to find ways to do that.”
Kraft and Penn State found a way to do that this past weekend, when country music star Luke Combs performed at the venue before 80,000.
Beaver Stadium is built for concerts. Awesome. pic.twitter.com/OlA53JHXys
— Seth Engle (@bigsengtweets) April 28, 2024
As much sense as it’d make for Penn State wrestling to compete at Beaver Stadium, Starocci’s call to “sell out” the stadium appears to be ambitious based on history.
The stadium holds more than 107,000, which even Combs, one of the top music stars in his genre, fell more then 25,000 short of. When Iowa competed at Kinnick, the attendance was 42,287, which is roughly 28,000 below what its capacity was at the time in a state which is, like Pennsylvania, known for its love of wrestling.
On the other hand, Nebraska volleyball drew 92,203 to Memorial Stadium this past summer, setting an attendance record for women’s sports.
If any Penn State program can sellout Beaver Stadium aside from football, it’s wrestling.
