Watch the commercial!

GREENVILLE, Pa. – For the first time in the 109-year history of the football program, Thiel College will play a night game on its campus under its new competition-level lights at Alumni Stadium Saturday. Kickoff against the Westminster Titans is set for 7 p.m.
 
Installed in August by Qualite Sports Lighting, LLC, the addition of competition-level lighting at Alumni Stadium has been a goal of the Athletic Department for some time.
 
"We are very excited about the addition of competition-level lighting," said Thiel College Director of Athletics Jack Leipheimer '74. "We are very thankful for the generous donations we received to complete this important project, which benefits our athletic teams, intramurals programs and the local community."
 
Adding competition-level lighting to Alumni Stadium has not only added an element to on-campus games, but has also eased the difficult task of scheduling practices for the College's 22 NCAA Division III programs and its intramurals programs. In addition, the lights present a "Wow Factor" for potential recruits, many of which come from high school programs that have competition-level lighting.
 
"Practice scheduling has certainly been eased," said Leipheimer, "and more importantly, recruits have taken notice of the lights. We believe we have only begun to see the benefits of adding competition-level lights."
 
Qualite Sports Lighting, LLC has decades of experience installing lighting systems for thousands of customers. The lights that Thiel College selected for its multipurpose facility are the 1,500-watt Pro Series with visor fixtures, which are backed by a 25-year warranty. The Pro Series comes with the Qualite ReQuest Unit, a versatile remote wireless management system that is utilized to schedule and control facility lighting.
 
It is fitting that Thiel is playing local conference rival Westminster in its first night football game. Three years ago, on Oct. 24, 2010, the Tomcats played the Titans in the first ever night football game at Westminster's Burry Stadium. Westminster won the game.
 
"Our staff and players are very excited to be a part of history with the first night football game at Alumni Stadium," said Thiel head football coach Kurt Reiser. "With the upgrades that we have made to our stadium with new turf last year and the addition of lights this year, we have a facility that we take pride in and recruits can see as a commitment to our athletic programs. On any game day, night or day, we feel we have the best game day atmosphere in our conference."
 
This season, the Tomcats and Titans both come into the contest with a 2-4 record in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). Thiel is coming off an exciting 30-28 road win over the Bethany Bison Saturday, in which the two teams combined to score 35 fourth-quarter points.
 
Freshman running back Josh Wannamaker (Derry, Pa./Derry) ran for 248 yards – the second most in a single game in Thiel football history – against the Bison last week. He also scored two touchdowns on the ground and caught three passes. He went on to be named the PAC Offensive Player of the Week Monday by the conference office.
 
Along with running back Josh Potter (Chipley, Fla./Chipley) and quarterback Ryan Radke (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster Central), Wannamaker and Tomcats rank second in the PAC in rushing offense, averaging 197.5 yards per game.
 
Thiel's matchup against Westminster should be an interesting battle as the Titans enter the night game ranked third in the conference in total defense and second in rushing defense.
 
Thiel College has several events planned around its first night football game, including: pregame lighting of the field by Harvey Childs, who was a supporter of the College's competition-level lights; tailgate; glow-in-the dark T-shirt giveaway. The complete slate of events for Saturday is included below.
 
Night Football Game Schedule of Events
 
4:30-6:30 p.m.: Tailgate for students with valid student ID.
5:00 p.m.: Gate opens for football game. Long sleeve glow-in-the-dark T-shirt giveaway to first 400 students, faculty, staff in attendance with valid Thiel ID. Glow-in-the-dark night sticks and necklaces will also be given away.
5:00 p.m.: Pregame lighting of Alumni Stadium by Harvey Childs, Bail USA Chairman of the Board and donor for Thiel College's competition-level lights.
6:00-6:30 p.m.: Thiel Activities Board will conduct games with prizes in front of the stands. Thiel Activities Board will also give away prizes to students throughout the game.