Late Night Homecoming events tonight will give students a chance to rock out to a Fastball concert and compete for the title of "most spirited student" at the HUB-Robeson Center.

The events were created to allow individual students the chance to experience the spirit of Homecoming competition, Homecoming Public Relations Chair Tara Burnham said.

"Any individual can sign up for it; you don't have to be representing an organization," she said.

Homecoming Special Events Chair Diana Maxham said events from last year will still be held, but new events such as the buffalo wing- and pizza-eating contests and the "most spirited" contest have been added.

"We're doing all of the same programming from last year, but they're being held in a new way," she said.

The most spirited contest will also be held for the first time this year, Homecoming Overall chair Andrea McDonald said.

Special events captain Haley Marish said the idea for the competition was to involve Penn State students who might not participate in the wing- and pizza-eating contests.

"We thought we could get everyone involved by having the most spirited contest with prizes for each grade level," she said.

She said competition consists of three rounds, which will include a contest for most-spirited outfit, an impersonation or costume round pertaining to Joe Paterno or the Nittany Lion, and a championship round.

"We'll have a contestant from each grade level; [the final round] will have two parts," she said.

She said the first part would be Penn State trivia, and the second part will involve the contestants leading the crowd in Penn State chants. The total results will determine which contestant is the most spirited Penn State student.

Late Night Homecoming will also feature a concert by rock group Fastball, which became popular with its 1998 single "The Way," at 10:30 p.m. in HUB Alumni Hall.

Burnham said students will be admitted to Alumni Hall starting at 10 p.m., but said only a certain number of students could be admitted.

"They have [a certain number] of tickets available; the maximum capacity is all we allow," she said.

Maxham said participants will be able to make their own T-shirts using iron-on designs this year, a change from last year.

She also said the event last year coincided with Late Night Penn State, which was held on Thursdays.

"Last year, [Late Night Homecoming] was part of Late Night Penn State; this year it is an independent event," she said.

McDonald said the overall committee worked with HUB officials to arrange and reserve space for the activities, though it isn't officially associated with Late Night Penn State.