Singing and chanting, thousands cheer end of Penn State bowl ban

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - "May no act of ours bring shame" bellowed from the crowd of thousands gathered Monday night outside Beaver Stadium on the Pennsylvania State University campus.

Students sang the Penn State alma mater. They climbed atop tall carts and pushed themselves against the metal partition of Gate A, where students enter on game day. And they cheered the NCAA's decision to allow Penn State to compete in a bowl game this postseason and to restore its full number of scholarships for 2015.

Celebrations began around 9 p.m., when students rallied around the illuminated bell tower on the Old Main lawn, across the street from where masses angrily protested the firing of Joe Paterno almost three years ago - and on the same steps where students held a vigil in honor of the late coach months later.

Students linked arms, belting the alma mater and chanting, "Joe Pa!" and "We are!" They tossed jersey-clad girls - and a few larger boys - into the air and waved blue-and-white Penn State flags.

"I didn't expect this many people," said Rosario Patrizio, 20, of East Hanover, N.J. "This is crazy. . . . It shows how much pride our school has."

Patrizio, who donned a winter hat with a Nittany Lion logo on the front, held up a cardboard sign that read: "Restore the wins. #JoePa."

The mood in the chilly air was celebratory and relatively tame. Then someone yelled, "To Beaver!" And they were off, running across the expansive campus toward the stadium.

Police looked on as the feet of the running masses in white shook the concrete.

After rallying outside the stadium, the crowds trekked to downtown State College.

As of 11 p.m., there appeared to be no major police activity. Passing cars honked horns and a voice rang out: "Are we talking about playoffs?"