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A D M I N I S T R A T I O N PSU athletic department grows reserve balance Penn State's athletic department continues to experience revenue growth, with a stabilized budget and increased reserve balance, athletic di- rector Sandy Barbour told the board of trustees' Committee on Finance, Busi- ness and Capital Planning at a Sept. 12 meeting. At the conclusion of the 2013 7scal year, the impact of the NCAA sanctions and loss of Big Ten bowl revenue drove the reserve balance down to approxi- mately $150,000. Through a combina- tion of investment strategies, expense- reduction initiatives and a steady climb in both traditional and new revenues, Intercollegiate Athletics had built a re- serve balance of approximately $12.3 million as 7scal year 2019 concluded. Those factors enabled Penn State to earmark $5 million of the reserve bal- ance to the facilities master plan that was announced in 2017. Barbour noted that in the budget projections over the next 7ve years, $4 million will be held and designated for the priority projects outlined in the facilities plan. As in previous years, Barbour's pres- entation noted that ICA supports ap- proximately 800 student-athletes across 31 varsity sports (16 men's and 15 women's), with more than 74 percent of those student-athletes receiving some type of grant-in-aid/scholarship sup- port (367 full grant-in-aid equivalen- cies). Penn State has more varsity sports than all but a handful of the 130 schools in the Football Bowl Subdivi- sion. Barbour concluded her presentation by acknowledging that although the 7ve-year budget projections are much improved over those presented in the immediate a;ermath of the sanctions, resources will remain tight for the de- partment. The ability of ICA's programs to remain competitive, or in some cases, achieve greater competitive levels, she said, will be dependent on the depart- ment's ability to identify and develop new revenue streams while growing tra- ditional revenues, such as ticket sales and philanthropy. Philanthropy, in par- ticular, will play a critical role in the ability of the department to execute on the facilities upgrades outlined in the master plan, she said. ■ F O O T B A L L Former players defend Franklin following lawsuit A lawsuit 7led on Aug. 26 by former Penn State football team physician Dr. Scott Lynch against James Franklin and several administrators alleged that the Nittany Lions' head coach tried to in- 8uence medical decisions regarding in- jured players. In the days a;er the suit was 7led, a number of Franklin's former players took to social media to cite their own 7rsthand experiences with the Lions' coach. Tight end Adam Breneman, who was forced to retire due to injuries during his Penn State career, chimed in on Twitter, asserting in a series of tweets that he never felt pressured or rushed by Franklin to return to action. "That was a tough, di:cult time for me," Breneman wrote, "but he could not have been more understanding or caring during the entire process. "We met o;en, sometimes more than once a week, and he would check in to see how I was feeling and, more impor- tantly, where I was mentally. "Never once did he attempt to pres- sure me into playing or rush me back. He was adamant that I take as much time as I needed to get healthy. "I obviously ended up retiring and leaving Penn State, but during some of the darkest points of my career I had a head coach who was supportive and approachable. I'll always be thankful to him for that." Former Penn State running back Saquon Barkley discussed his own ex- periences with injuries and Franklin's response to them during his time in University Park. Barkley cited an injury he received early in his freshman sea- son at Penn State that sidelined him for several weeks. He had been one of the bright spots for a Nittany Lion o9ense that was struggling early in the season, but he was held out of two games and later made a healthy return to action. "I personally wanted to get back on the 7eld as fast as I could," Barkley told NJ Advance Media, "and play as fast as I could. James Franklin was awesome for me. I tried to force it and he just wouldn't allow me to force it. I sat out the next two weeks and was able to come out and be healthy the rest of the season." Recently graduated quarterback Trace McSorley was also among the former players who came to Franklin's defense. McSorley su9ered a knee in- jury against Iowa last year and a foot injury in Penn State's Citrus Bowl ap- pearance against Kentucky. McSorley said Franklin was cautious about allow- ing him to return to action in both games. Franklin addressed the lawsuit at the beginning of his weekly news confer- ence prior to the Nittany Lions' season opener against Idaho. Reading from a prepared statement, he disputed the al- legations presented in the suit. "I would like to start with a statement rejecting Dr. Lynch's claims," Franklin said. "We'll continue to vigorously de- fend our program and all participants in this manner. As always, the health and well-being of our student-athletes is of the utmost importance to us. But a;er that, we'll have no further com- ment." –NATE BAUER

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