Penn State AD talks release of James Franklin’s contract, renovations, parking, and more
James Franklin’s contract terms should be released in early January, Penn State Athletic Director Sandy Barbour said Friday, but that new six-year extension likely won’t prevent future offseason chatter about different job openings.
“This contract, any contract, is not going to stop that,” Barbour said at the Omni Dallas Hotel. “And I don’t really want it to.
“I want us to continue to have the kind of success that’s going to draw other people to James. But he’s a Penn Stater. He’s our coach. And he’s going to remain that way.”
Like past years, Barbour said Franklin’s buyout will be made available when the contract is released. But she declined to discuss specifics regarding the assistant coaches’ salary pool, only saying that the athletic department made a commitment three years ago to increase it.
“For the last three years, James and I and others have sat down and determined a number,” she said. “He’s asked for a number, and that’s what’s been given. And this year has been no different.”
Ideally, Barbour said, the goal is to maintain its standing as one of the Big Ten’s top three — and one of the nation’s top 10 — in head coach’s salary, assistant coaches’ salary pool and academic services.
Notes
- Barbour declined to say the series with Pitt was dead ... but it sure sounded Friday as if it was on life support. “I’ve said it 100 times before,” she said. “With us playing a nine-game schedule and (Pitt) playing an eight-game schedule, it’s a different proposition for them than it is for us. I would certainly not say it’s dead; I would say it’s not something we’re talking about right now.”
- Any renovations to Beaver Stadium are still “years away” from moving past the planning and preliminary stages, Barbour said. “That’s such a massive project,” she added.
- In May, Penn State’s Board of Trustees approved nearly $70 million in further renovations to the Lasch Football Building. Barbour said the program is about halfway through that, with more to come in the late summer or early fall of 2020.
- As part of the first five-year leg of the facilities master plan, Barbour still anticipates building a second indoor practice facility for non-football teams. The football team would then continue to use Holuba Hall — except, after the new facility, football would be able to use Holuba exclusively.
- Some changes and additions could be coming to the parking and traffic patterns around Beaver Stadium. Barbour didn’t hint at specifics, but she did say Penn State will be rolling out “about half-a-dozen things” as 2020 ticket renewals draw near.
This story was originally published December 27, 2019 at 4:12 PM.
