Penn State's James Franklin Wants to be 'Transformational' in Transactional Game

James Franklin's body of work in college football crosses an important line of demarcation in the sport. The Penn State football coach played and coached in Division III football as the launch pad to a career in a game that wasn't yet a business. Now, Franklin coaches in a business built around a game, to which he's constantly trying to adapt without losing sight of his purpose.

“I think the majority of people got into coaching college football, in my generation, to be transformational on young people’s lives" Franklin said recently. "None of us, my age or older, got into this business because of money. It was because you love the game of football and you wanted to help young people grow and mature. I worry a little bit now that, because of how the sport has changed, there’s people being attracted to the sport for the wrong reasons."

Entering his 12th season at Penn State, and 15th season as a head coach, Franklin has developed into a pragmatic voice of the game. He addresses college football's questions and inconsistenies with firm boundaries but a measured hand. Franklin talks about revenue sharing, the transfer portal, conference scheduling, NIL, roster limitations and every other debate point about the game through a common lens. Franklin wants college football to be transformational in a transactional world.

The recent House vs. NCAA settlement means that, beginning July 1, Penn State and other athletic departments can begin paying players directly for the first time. Penn State will fund revenue sharing for football to the maximum. It's only practical for a national championship contender.

Penn State and Franklin recruit with revenue sharing and NIL in mind, sometimes top of mind, and are willing to pay for talent. Yet Franklin also wants money to be part of a package, not the focus, in playing at Penn State.

“The way the sport has changed from a transfer portal perspective and from an NIL perspective, I think there’s also young people and families that are making decisions based on a transactional experience rather than a transformational experience," Franklin said. "So for us, we’re one of a handful of programs that are still holding on to [wanting] it to be as transformational an experience as possible. 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."

Certainly, Penn State football has traded in being transformational for decades through "Success With Honor." However, Franklin also must understand modern college football, which believes that funding programs also can be "transformational." At Penn State, the balancing act is more complex.

“It was also very obvious to me coming to Penn State that that was very important to our alumni and very important to this community and very important to our lettermen," Franklin said. "So we are fighting, scratching, 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 ... can still really provide a similar experience that we always have.”