James Franklin Pitches New Athlete Dorms at Penn State
Penn State coach James Franklin seldom misses an opportunity to recruit or pitch for more program resources. On Tuesday, in his continuing mission to build a nationally competitive program, Franklin brought up the concept of new athletic dorms, including those specific to football.
The Penn State coach did so with a smooth segue after being asked about Dani Dennis-Sutton, a highly recruited defensive end who is a freshman for the Lions this season. Franklin said that Penn State's living facilities have been a recruiting issue for some prospects, including Dennis-Sutton and an unnamed player who ultimately signed elsewhere.
While saying that Dennis-Sutton is off to a strong start at Penn State, Franklin also delivered his pitch.
"That was a big part in the recruiting process," Franklin said during his weekly press conference. "We lost a kid a few years ago because we didn’t have singles for the football team like other schools do. That kid got drafted and now is playing in the NFL, and we almost lost Dani over it."
Penn State, 3-0 entering Saturday's game against Central Michigan, is in a growing position of strength nationally. The Lions generated a ton of good-will coverage after their 41-12 win at Auburn and went viral for Eli Manning's walk-on tryout video that entertained college football.
So for Franklin, what better time to remind people that Penn State could be more competitive on and off the field? Now in his ninth year as head coach, Franklin has pushed often for increased attention to (and budgets for) the program's training facilities, recruiting and analytics staffs and performance programs.
Now, Franklin mentions the dorms.
The NCAA prohibited athlete-only dorms in 1996, saying athletes should be integrated with, rather than insulated from, the college experience. But NCAA rules do allow allow athlete dorms, or blocks within dorms, as long as at least 51 percent of the residents are non-athletes.
Schools such as Auburn, Kansas, Oklahoma and others have built housing facilities with athletes in mind over the past decade. These halls can include four-bedroom suites, upgraded dining facilities, screening rooms and barber shops.
Some of Penn State's players live in the Nittany Apartments area, facilities that are convenient to the football and academic buildings but dated (they were built in the 1980s). They're not necessarily a recruiting tool for the athletic program. New dorms might be.
Penn State is deliberating what to do with Beaver Stadium, and how much money to spend on the project. But Franklin more than hinted that the football program has imperatives other than the stadium.
"I’ve said it really since I got here: We have to compete the 364 other days a year with everything. Everything matters," Franklin said last year. "... I’ve had very, very honest conversations. All the way back to year one, we’ve been talking about these things.
"We’ve made great strides, and I don’t want it to come off the wrong way. I’m very appreciative of the strides we’ve made, but there was a long period of time where we did nothing and it put us behind, and we’ve been playing catch-up."
Penn State hosts Central Michigan at noon ET Saturday. Big Ten Network will televise.
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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.
