UNIVERSITY PARK — Blue and white took the prize in the inaugural College Colors Day Spirit Cup.
A grassroots campaign by students, alumni, employees and fans lifted Penn State to the top in the competition, sponsored by Collegiate Licensing Co. and NCAA football in conjunction with ESPN.com.
The competition encourages fans to wear their favorite school's colors on Friday, celebrating the opening of the college football season.
Fans could vote online, pledging their allegiance to any of 172 universities.
Penn State won with 44,801 pledges.
The online voting began on Aug. 1 and ended on Aug. 24.
Winning the Colors Day competition earns Penn State a $10,000 prize that will go to the university’s general scholarship fund.
“We are elated to see this incredible expression of Penn State pride, spirit and support demonstrated by our students, alumni, faculty and staff, and friends and fans in winning the Pledge Your Allegiance contest,” Roger Williams, executive director of the Penn State Alumni Association, said in a news release Wednesday.
“This national victory is what Nittany Nation is all about. We know Penn Staters everywhere will join us in celebrating by wearing their blue and white with great pride.”
Behind Penn State, the remaining top-five schools were Texas A&M, Missouri, West Virginia and Alabama.
The contest was promoted on Penn State’s Facebook page and on Twitter.
