How do you anger thousands of Penn State alumni, students and other football fans just days before the start of a new football season?

You implement a rule that breaks a long-standing tradition of tailgating well after the festivities in Beaver Stadium start.

That's exactly what the university did Wednesday. Nonchalantly -- in a buried paragraph in the middle of a press release -- a single sentence announced a rule where drinking will no longer be allowed between kick-off and the final whistle.

With fans rolling into town the day or weekend of the game and students trickling in from summer vacation, the university gave very little warning to a ban that will affect thousands of students who weren't able to get tickets and thousands more fans who traditionally listen to the game from a nearby field.

Perhaps the announcement of a controversial rule was strategically planned so it didn't affect the hopes for record-setting ticket sales after a victorious previous football season.

Although plenty of older alumni and fans enjoy tailgating during the game, it's hard to imagine police officers reprimanding them, especially since alumni donations are so graciously accepted. Was this rule put in place just to discipline students?

For decades, Penn State has been known as one of the best tailgating schools in the country and was ranked No. 1 in a tailgating competition last year on the Sports Illustrated Web site. Is the administration just trying to help clean up a party image and prevent an incident that could lead to bad publicity for the university?

With increased security near the stadium, will the rest of the campus lack the proper patrol? How about downtown State College?

We understand the need to keep the stadium lots clean, but the idea simply isn't practical. Spending more energy and time on underage drinkers seems to be a better idea than upsetting long-time fans who may just consume alcohol in their RV or down a drink when an officer isn't looking.

Fans who don't have tickets may migrate elsewhere to drink. College students on almost every college campus drink on game day.

This isn't a new concept. Students and alumni will find a way around the ban regardless

Police officers may have trouble making thousands of people put down their beers. It's not so easy to change a culture that's been in existence as long as Beaver Stadium has been.