STATE COLLEGE — The earliest the puck could drop on a potential outdoor hockey game at Penn State’s Beaver Stadium would be 2014.

Athletic director Dave Joyner said Monday that he’s informally discussed the possibility of hosting a game at the home of the Nittany Lions with Peter Luukko, president of Comcast-Spectacor, which owns the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers.

Joyner characterized the preliminary talk as exploratory and high level. “A wouldn’t-it-be-kind-of-cool thing to do” type-talk, Joyner described in a phone interview.

“Nothing would happen until the very earliest until the end of the football season in 2014,” he said.

The idea of opening up Beaver Stadium to hockey has been thrown around at Penn State since the school announced plans to upgrade its club hockey program to Division I in 2010. The Big Ten is also starting a hockey league this fall, with the Nittany Lions one of the founding members.

Penn State hockey could also play outdoors, whether as an undercard to an NHL marquee matchup or as part of a collegiate event. Any outdoor game would likely pack the 106,000-plus capacity stadium — the second-largest in the country behind Michigan Stadium.

The possibility has picked up social media buzz of late, especially with Nittany Lions coach Bill O’Brien offering ringing endorsements in response to questions during last month’s coach’s caravan, and at a charity golf outing earlier a few weeks ago.

“To play a hockey game in Beaver Stadium would be great for this area,” O’Brien, who grew up in the hockey-savvy Boston suburbs, said then. “I love hockey.”

WJAC-TV reported last week that Penn State was “seriously considering the idea.” Luukko said he had spoken with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the league about an interest in the game, the Philadelphia Inquirer also reported last week.