The ingredients are all too familiar: thousands of extra people jammed into a college town, a flood of alcohol that could drown any army, warm weather and a good reason to get out in the streets and celebrate.

But it's not just State College, it's East Lansing, Mich., too — and what a difference a year makes.

Following Michigan State's Final Four loss to Duke University in 1999, about 10,000 people flooded the streets of East Lansing and caused about $150,000 worth of damage.

The "riot" was a huge national media story, grabbing headlines and prime time coverage from major news outlets.

Yet when the conditions were again prime for a riot in April, after the Spartans' hoops team won the NCAA title by beating the University of Florida, the streets were not choked with drunken, violent fans.

"The behaviors were commendable," said Terry Denbow, vice president of university relations at Michigan State. "We were proud of our students and the students from other schools that were here."

And despite efforts on Penn State's part to prevent it, no one needs to be reminded what happened on Beaver Avenue during two of the past three annual Central Pennsylvania Festivals of the Arts.

The damage done by rioters in State College in 1998 was also about $150,000, although crowds were not nearly as large as those at Michigan State. In a repeat performance this year, rioters did about $4,000 worth of damage.

At last year's Arts Festival, increased police presence and other factors seemed to kill the idea of another riot.

The primary reason for the change of events at Michigan State was simply a change in the students' attitudes, Denbow said.

Students were embarrassed by the negative media attention their behavior invited, he added.

"They saw it on CNN. Their friends asked them if they were there. When they went for job interviews, employers asked them about it," he said.

Denbow said the university tried to help change student's attitudes by enlisting the help of community leaders, specifically Spartan basketball coach Tom Izzo.

The coach sent an e-mail called the "Spartans act with class" message, urging responsible behavior during this year's tournament.

"The change was student driven," Denbow said. "They said, 'that wasn't us.' "

Like the Michigan State administrators, State College Borough Council member Jean McManis said the final responsibility falls on students to avoid situations where a riot or disturbance might occur.

"You could talk about this forever," McManis said. "But staying away is the only answer."

Despite the varying results, Penn State and Michigan State took similar steps to try to prevent a reoccurrence.

Denbow said, "(Penn State President) Graham Spanier and (Michigan State President M.) Peter McPherson are the two most vocal leaders in higher education to speak out against alcohol abuse and binge drinking."

Penn State expanded programs offered as alternatives to alcohol, such as Late Night Penn State, and education initiatives to try to persuade students away from dangerous drinking behaviors, said Bill Mahon, Penn State's department of public relations director.

Mahon also said Penn State is generally seen as a leader in fighting alcohol abuse among universities and that McPherson has actually consulted Spanier on methods to curb binge drinking.

He added it is hard to determine just how many people avoid drinking due to the programs.

"We'll never know how many people have not attended an event or put themselves in danger or drank themselves into an emergency room," he said.