The College Football Playoff announced the dates and times for its First Round, Quarterfinal, Semifinal, and National Championship games on Monday. 

After what is sure to be a grueling 2026-27 season, the eyes of the college football universe will descend on Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on January 25, 2027, when a champion will be crowned. Yes…We know college football is creeping closer and closer to joining March Madness.  

Matt Campbell and the Nittany Lions have their sights set on a playoff run, but as we learned last season, a lot can happen between now and January. Let’s take a look at Penn State-related things that might, or might not, happen before the Nittany Lions win the National Championship.

Adidas Unveils New Penn State Athletics Uniforms

The Swoosh is out.

Beginning on July 1, Penn State will enter a 10-year, $300 million contract with Adidas, ending the school’s 33-year relationship with Nike. With that, Penn State Athletics must overhaul its uniform game and official merchandise.

While it’s likely that many of the teams’ classic uniforms will remain the same, football’s basic blues and wrestling’s dynastic singlets being two examples, Adidas will have the creative freedom to make any adjustments it sees fit.

Will more pink and black be in our future? Will football adopt an alternate jersey? Only time will tell. I, for one, am looking forward to stocking up on some new three-stripes merch at the bookstore.

John Summit Performs At Champs Downtown

Summit recently announced that his “CTRL ESCAPE” arena tour would run through Happy Valley. Known for his EDM house music, Summit will undoubtedly have the Bryce Jordan Center rocking when he rolls in on October 30, the Friday of Halloweekend.

But what would be even more electric would happen after the concert. After big-name artists have performed at Penn State, they often take their show to Champs Downtown afterward. Take Travis Scott and Sheck Wes, for example.

It seems fitting and likely that Summit might follow suit and bring the rave to the bar as an early pregame party for Penn State’s matchup against Purdue. I get chills just thinking about what a magical weekend that would be.

Board of Trustees Announces Tuition Increase

Surprise, surprise. Despite an apparently controversial April Fools’ Day article, Penn State tuition never decreases, not in this economy. And every year in July, like clockwork, the Board of Trustees announces hikes to the cost of attending the greatest university in the world.

They may disguise it by calling the increases “limited,” but an increase is an increase at the end of the day. And you can count on it happening again. In fact, it’s so likely that if you were to bet millions of dollars on your tuition going up, you probably wouldn’t win enough money to pay for your tuition (Onward State doesn’t endorse irresponsible gambling).

Anyway, I’ll stop saying the word tuition. I guess there’s a price for excellence.

Beaver Stadium Renovations Finish

The Beaver revitalization project is set to finish in the fall of 2027. While that might seem like a long way away, with the rate at which college football rules are changing, and the fact that the national championship game is already almost a month into 2027, who knows what could happen?

100 Days ‘Til THON Sets Fundraising Record

THON keeps on breaking records.

Year after year, Penn State’s dance marathon raises more and more money For The Kids. Most recently, fundraising efforts for THON 2026 totaled $18,841,726.53.

Each year, Penn State THON hosts 100 Days ‘Til THON in November, an event in the HUB that concludes a 17-day fundraising period as part of the annual Dream Forward campaign. In 2025, the initiative raised the bar yet again, accumulating $2,077,353.59.

The event is on a four-year record-setting streak, and signs point toward that trend continuing in 2026. 

Penn State Men’s Basketball Season Is Over

While yes, technically, the basketball season runs until at least March for every Big Ten team, since the tournament includes everyone. Penn State hoops season could very well be over psychologically by January 25.

Last year, the Nittany Lions were 0-7 in Big Ten play by this date and were deep into their mid-season nine-game losing streak. But hey, who knows, maybe head coach Mike Rhoades has something cooking with the transfer portal adds this year.

Penn State Football Qualifies For The National Championship

CampBELIEVE in miracles.