Blue White Illustrated

LAST WORD N A T E B A U E R | N B A U E R @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M pon initially taking the job at Penn State, James Franklin demon- strated as much restraint as he possibly could. The football program, still wounded from the fallout of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, was constantly in flux. Simply finding a way to endure the series of challenges, and maybe eventually over- come them, was Franklin's priority for the immediate future. Too much change, he understood, could undermine his ef- forts to gather and grow public support. So he waited five months to deliver a jarring state of the union. Beyond the immediate challenges of the NCAA's sanctions against the pro- gram, Penn State's future success was in jeopardy for an entirely separate, lesser- known reason. Flatly, Franklin explained that Penn State's football facilities were badly outdated and out of step with the pro- gram's primary competitors. And unless there was a sense of urgency to imple- ment much-needed renovations and improvements, the Nittany Lions' rele- vance could dwindle on the recruiting trail and ultimately on the playing field. During a Coaches Caravan stop in 2014, Franklin outlined the scope of the program's needs. "To be honest with you, it's every- thing," he said. "It's nothing really structurally, but it's the indoor facility. Our turf needs to be replaced outside and inside; the carpet, the paint, the branding, the furniture, the technology." Franklin urged reporters to study the facilities of other top-flight programs in the hope that those comparisons would offer a true picture of the steps that Penn State needed to take in order to level the playing field. "Look around the country to see what people have," he said. "We're going to be able to build a very, very successful pro- gram that's going to be competitive in this conference, but it's also going to be competitive nationwide. I think it's just important for us to be aware of what's really out there. So I'd really recom- mend you take a peek at those things." Nearly five years later, Franklin's vi- sion continues to come to fruition. Announced in a May 2 press release, the university's board of trustees ap- proved architecture firm HOK to lead a $69 million initiative to further reno- vate the Lasch Football Building, the outdoor practice fields and Holuba Hall. Under the proposal, the weight room will expand and the second-level coaches' offices and meeting rooms will be upgraded in the Lasch Building. The outdoor practice fields will be leveled to correct an existing downhill slope, then rotated to allow for multiple field orien- tations. Permanent filming platforms and an outdoor training hill will also be installed. Holuba Hall, now more than 30 years old, will receive improvements that include additional restrooms and amenities for spectators, according to the press release. All of this, of course, comes in the wake of already completed renovations to the Lasch Building's first floor. A nu- trition bar was added to the weight room, the team auditorium and individ- ual position meeting rooms all under- went facelifts, the locker room was completely overhauled and the training room was renovated to include hy- drotherapy pools. Renovations are now under way in the players' lounge and tu- toring facilities. Exactly as Franklin had originally in- sisted. "The renovations already completed in the Lasch Building have played a critical role in helping develop our student-ath- letes and build one of the top football programs in the nation," Franklin said. "To sustain and strengthen our suc- cesses, we need to keep investing to give our students and staff all the tools they need for us to win at the very highest level, on and off the field." More than five years in the making, the physical and cosmetic improve- ments to the Nittany Lions' facilities are just the beginning. Rapid, substantial renovations were necessary for the program to catch up to its competitors. But just as the current projects were required in order for Penn State to match its conference and na- tional counterparts, a more consistent state of renovations will be necessary in the future. "We talk about facilities, and I think people take it the wrong way," Franklin told BWI last spring. "If you look at Google and you look at a lot of these companies, they are spending a tremen- dous amount of resources on creating a great work environment. Why? Because [that provides] the best chance to get the most production out of your players, out of your staff. You create an environ- ment where people want to come to work every single day. "It's obviously a little bit more chal- lenging to do when you're trying to cre- ate a meeting room that a 6-foot-5, 325-pound kid is going to be comfort- able in… but all those small details are really what give you a chance to be suc- cessful over the long haul." To eventually find that elite success on the field, the Nittany Lions must win the battle of first impressions when giv- ing facility tours to elite high school sophomore and junior football prospects. Five years into Franklin's tenure with the program, through tireless persistence and countless tangible and intangible improvements, Penn State is as poised as it has ever been to do exactly that. ■ A blueprint for success U

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