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Penn State Basketball Tied To Conspiracy That Robbed Students Of Free McDonald’s Nuggets

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The Penn State Nittany Lions men’s basketball program is off to a surprising 5-0 start under second-year head coach Mike Rhoades and is one of the most exciting teams in the country. The Nittany Lions currently rank second in the country in points per game at 98.2, which has paid dividends for Penn State students in multiple ways.

For one, they get to watch a fast-paced team that could make a surprising run to the NCAA Tournament for only the third time this century. But perhaps even more exciting is a promotion that the Nittany Lions are running with area McDonald’s restaurants.

Any time the Nittany Lions eclipse 70 points in a game, whether in a win or a loss, fans can get a free 10-piece chicken McNuggets with a minimum $1 order. So far, Penn State has eclipsed 70 points in all five of its games, with its lowest point total coming in an 86-64 victory over Virginia Tech on Nov. 15.

That’s a lot of free McNuggets! Or, at least, it would be. Except there’s one major caveat to consider here. Just last week, the lone McDonald’s in downtown State College, Pennsylvania closed so that construction could begin in a high-rise set to replace it. The McDonald’s intends to reopen on the first floor of the high-rise, but that won’t be for several years. Penn State students even held a candlelight vigil to honor the fallen fast-food restaurant.

This begs the question, did Penn State and McDonald’s know this was happening before they launched the promotion? You can’t give out hundreds (thousands?) of dollars worth of free McNuggets if there is no McDonald’s to give them out at!

Now, Penn State students and alums will tell you that there are two other McDonald’s locations in the area. But both are well off campus and only really accessible by bus or car.

As the Nittany Lions hit the meat of their Big Ten schedule, their scoring will likely slow down. But it still looks like McDonald’s may have saved itself a whole lot of money with a timely store closesure.