Penn State NIL Collective to Host Fundraising Event in Pittsburgh Before U.S. Open

James Franklin talks "transformational"

This has been a theme of the Penn State coach during the NIL era. Franklin continues to drive home the point that he wants Penn State to be a "transformational" program rather than a "transactional" one. What does Franklin mean by that? He explained during a recent media session in State College.

"We're one of a handful of programs that are still holding on to [where] we want it to be as transformational an experience as possible," Franklin said. "I think that aligns with Penn State and what our values are and how we want this program to be run. That's something that was always very important to me. But it was also very obvious to me coming to Penn State that that was something that’s very important to our alumni and very important to this community and very important to our lettermen.

"So we are fighting, scratching and clawing to balance those two things. There’s an aspect that you have to embrace the evolution of college football. But you don’t have to abort what your values are and and how you still want it to go. And I think there’s a way that you can really blend the both, so that
the kid, the family, the program, the university, you can still really provide a similar experience than we always have.”

Penn State football hires new director of external operations

Tristin Iannone returns to Penn State as the program's new director of external operations. Iannone replaces Destiny Rodriguez, a longtime Penn State staff member who recently accepted a position with the New York Jets.

Iannone is a familiar face at the Lasch Football Building. A 2019 Penn State graduate, Iannone was an operations assistant on Franklin's staff for one year. He left with former offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne, who became the head coach at Old Dominion. Iannone held a variety of positions at Old Dominion in operations and recruiting for the past four years.