Penn State plays in big games every year, both in and away from Beaver Stadium.
Until the Big Ten’s recent expansion from 14 to 18 teams, Penn State played both Ohio State Michigan and Ohio State annually, with every autumn featuring a trip to either Columbus’ “Horseshoe” or Ann Arbor’s “Big House.”
But it’s not often a game inspires local schools to close, and that’s what’s happening in the state of West Virginia.
Morgantown, West Virginia is about to take it up a notch this weekend as No. 8 Penn State rolls into town for WVU’s season opener in football. On Friday, former WVU kicker Pat McAfee will be hosting his ESPN show ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on WVU’s campus. Monongalia County Schools thought it would be a smart idea to close on Friday for the “anticipated traffic congestion and potential delays.”
The power of college football.
Monongalia County School District released the following on Facebook:
In consultation with MECCA 911 and local law enforcement, Monongalia County Schools will be CLOSED for students this Friday, August 30 due to the anticipated traffic congestion and potential delays affecting our bus services. Monongalia County Schools’ top priority is ensuring student safety. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation with this change.
“Additionally, please be reminded that schools and offices will be closed on Monday, September 2, in observance of the Labor Day holiday.”
McAfee will host his show at the Life Sciences Building beginning at noon on Friday. The Mountaineers will open their 2024 season against the ranked Nittany Lions just 24 hours later at Milan Puskar Stadium, with Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff crew there as well. If you’ve ever been in Morgantown during a game weekend, you know the struggle of traffic on Friday and Saturday.
WVU AD Wren Baker also had a little fun on social media, tweeting at Univerisity President Gordon Gee to think about canceling class as well.
Penn State fans seeing this are likely to remember the University of Maryland canceling classes ahead of the 2019 Friday night Penn State game in College Park. Penn State ended up winning that game, 59-0.
