Update, 12/2 4:39 p.m.: The 825 students who will be traveling to Indianapolis on the buses tomorrow are expected to arrive no later than 6:30 a.m. to the Red Link bus stop on West campus next to the White Course apartments (a map is attached below this update). The buses will depart at 7 a.m. sharp and they will leave without you.

The trip will take about 8-10 hours but will include a stop for lunch. The buses will park in the Nation RV lot in Indianapolis (343 W Mcarty Street Indianapolis, IN), where they will remain throughout the day. After the game, students are expected to return to the buses immediately following the end of the game if Penn State loses. If Penn State wins, students are permitted to stay for the trophy ceremony but must return to the buses immediately following that. The Blue & White Brigade will return to State College at approximately 10 a.m. Talk about a whirlwind trip.

Students are encouraged to wear Penn State gear and look energized when they arrive at the buses in the morning (word on the street is there will be plenty of media doing things like taking pictures and videos. Yes, I understand it will be 6:30 a.m. but it’s the Big Ten Championship). The Blue and White Society is providing shakers, which will be handed out in the morning. Students should have their Penn State IDs and know which bus they’re on before boarding. You can check which bus you’re on here.

Update 1:50 p.m.: All 15 Blue & White Brigade Buses to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship are now full. That’s 825 students that UPUA (with help from the Blue & White Society and a donation from Anthony Misitano/Post Acute Medical) is going to be able to get to the game.

Students can again sign up for a waitlist to get on one of the buses, but Rice says the chances of getting on a bus from the waitlist at this point are slim and the spots will “only come from cancellations.” Though he didn’t give an exact time, Rice also said the waitlist will close very soon. You can sign up for the waitlist here.

Update 1:04 p.m.: UPUA Facilities Chair Brent Rice just announced there are 100 additional seats available for those who weren’t on the waitlist for the Blue & White Brigade. You can sign up for one of the 100 spots here, first come first served.

Update, 11/29 11:44 a.m.: Thanks to a donation from Anthony Misitano and his company Post Acute Medical, UPUA was able to add five buses to the Blue & White Brigade for this Saturday’s game, bringing the total to a staggering 15. This means all students on the waitlist will receive a spot on the bus and will be notified within the hour. Additionally, UPUA will be sending out another sign up to fill out the remaining seats on the buses after everyone on the waitlist has a seat.

Update 8:38 p.m.: UPUA was able to secure seven additional buses for this Saturday’s trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship, meaning it will offer a total of 10 free, 55-seat buses. Ultimately, 550 students will get to travel to the game courtesy of UPUA.

UPUA will send out emails tonight by midnight for those who were on the waitlist to let them know either way whether they did or did not end up getting a spot on one of the buses. The 10-bus allocation is the final number that the student government will fund and offer for the game.

Original Story

If you’re a student trying to get to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship game, UPUA is here to help. Your student government originally organized three free Blue & White Brigade buses to transport students to the game on Saturday, but the demand was so high that its looking to add more.

Spots for the three buses filled up in less than a minute when they opened this morning at 7 a.m., making it obvious students were grateful that UPUA is planning the transportation but the three buses wouldn’t be enough for everyone that wanted a ride. Because of the insanely high demand, UPUA opened a waitlist for buses to see how many others would be interested in the transportation.

While signing up for the waitlist doesn’t guarantee a spot, UPUA is going to look at how many people sign up for the waitlist by 6 p.m. tonight and use that number to determine how many additional buses it will fund.

6 p.m. is a hard deadline, no exceptions. UPUA will write and pass legislation at its Wednesday general assembly meeting to fund the additional buses based on how many students sign up for the waitlist. As always, all students are invited to attend the meeting, which will be at 8 p.m. in 302 HUB. UPUA invites anyone and everyone to come and see how legislation is passed and to speak to the assembly if they wish during open student forum.

You can sign up for the waitlist here. Students who sign up for the waitlist by 6 p.m. will receive an email from UPUA Facilities Chair Brent Rice confirming that they are on the list. Those who successfully signed up for one of the three buses this morning will also receive a confirmation email.