Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546159
2 6 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State's 2025 football season was dramatic, but not for any of the reasons people were expecting at this time a year ago. The drama climaxed on Oct. 12 when athletics director Patrick Kraft fired James Franklin six games into his 12th season with the Nittany Lions. PSU had dropped three in a row, the most recent of those defeats being a 22-21 loss to un- ranked Northwestern that had foreclosed whatever slim College Football Playoff hopes the team might still have been en- tertaining after narrow losses to Oregon and UCLA. The day after Franklin's dismissal, Kraft stood in front of reporters in the Bea- ver Stadium media room to explain his decision. In his opening statement, Kraft thanked Franklin for his contributions to the program, then offered a lengthy de- scription of what he was looking for in a replacement. Buried at the end of a long list of boxes that needed to be checked was a not-so-subtle reference to what he saw as a toxic atmosphere around the football program. "We want someone who honors our tradition but isn't afraid to evolve, someone who understands the weight of 'We Are' and leads us forward with a vision of championships," Kraft said. "The right coach will rebuild the unity and pride that de- fine this historic program." Winning is one way to ac- complish that. Franklin had largely been a winning coach, finishing his tenure tied with Rip Engle for the second- most victories in program history with 104. But Penn State wasn't always uni- fied behind that effort, and when last year's high expectations went unful- filled, everything shattered. Ohio Roots The challenge of bringing the program and its supporters together now falls to former Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell, who accepted the Nittany Lions' post in December. Realistically, the best way for Campbell to unify Nit- tany Nation is to win. But winning a sta- tistically significant number of games wasn't enough to save Franklin. The di- visions that marked his tenure were in- ternal and institutional; it wasn't just a matter of disgruntled fans growing tired and angry over the team's penchant for coming up short in big games. Todd Blackledge, flanked by fellow Penn State greats D.J. Dozier (left) and Dave Robinson (right), returned to cam- pus this spring to speak with current Nittany Lion players. PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS Penn State Lettermen Appreciate Matt Campbell's Outreach T H O M A S F R A N K CA R R | T F R A N K . C A R R @ O N 3 . C O M