Penn State has for decades battled underage drinking, but what impact will prohibiting tailgating during the game have? If not at a tailgate, it will happen at a fraternity, apartment, off-campus house or dorm room. Rather than effectively addressing the problem, which Penn State has wrestled for years, the university's solution is to prohibit tailgates during a three-hour football game, on six or seven days a year.

Congratulations, Penn State, for halting parking lot underage drinking 21 hours per year, at the expense of tradition and alumni interest.

On any home-game weekend, hundreds of thousands of alumni, friends and family return to State College. Most of those who make the journey don't have the opportunity to witness the game first hand, simply because they can't obtain tickets or afford scalpers' resale prices. It is just as enjoyable, however, to watch or listen to the game from tailgates, because for us, the atmosphere is just as electric outside the stadium as inside.

Penn State has one of the largest alumni bases in the world, and that alumni base is arguably the financial backbone of the university, its athletic programs and State College. Why alienate those hundreds of thousands who journey back to enjoy the game inside or outside the stadium?

I hope Penn State will reconsider this decision and consider the greater consequences.