Penn State's James Franklin 'Open' to Playing More Regional Rivals, Like Pitt

On his radio show, the Penn State coach said potential games need to "make sense" for both programs.

Penn State hosted the fourth-largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history for last week's game against regional rival Pitt, the first meeting between the teams in 31 years. They'll meet again next year in Morgantown as part of a two-game series. The Lions played Pitt four times from 2016-19 and have scheduled a home-and-home series with Syracuse in 2027-28.

All of which prompted a fan to ask Penn State coach James Franklin on his radio show Thursday about the possibility of getting those teams, notably Pitt, on the schedule more regularly. Franklin responded by saying that, "if it's the right thing to do for Penn State, then I'm more than open to doing it."

"To me it needs to be an even exchange and it needs to make sense," Franklin said on the show. "But I think our [athletic directors] should get on the phone and work it out. I’ll tell them that it’s important to you, and we’ll see if it makes sense for both programs."

As long as Penn State plays nine Big Ten Conference games annually, the prospects of renewing those rivalries long-term remains slim. Franklin noted that, in 2013, SEC coaches voted 13-1 against expanding to a nine-game conference schedule. The SEC remained at eight games. Meanwhile, Big Ten coaches voted against expansion as well. Yet the Big Ten expanded to a nine-game conference schedule in 2016.

"The more conference games you play and the less regional the conferences are, then those [non-conference] games become more and more challenging," Franklin said. "And you have to see, do they make sense?"

"If it’s the right thing to do for our conference, if it’s the right thing to do for Penn State, then I’m more than open to doing it," Franklin added. "I think our ADs can get on a call and talk about it."

Recently, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi was asked why his team doesn't have a series scheduled with Penn State. "You'd have to ask James Franklin that," Narduzzi told Pittsburgh radio station 93.7 The Fan.

In the meantime, Penn State hosts Delaware at noon ET on Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

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