Penn State's James Franklin Finally Gets to a Tailgate

Franklin tailgated at the Luke Combs concert at Beaver Stadium. "It was awesome," he said.

Penn State Nittany Lions coach James Franklin high-fives fans prior to the 2024 Blue-White spring football game at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports

James Franklin has spent 10 seasons as Penn State's football coach looking longingly at the tailgate scene outside Beaver Stadium on gamedays. Someday, Franklin has said often, he would join that tailgate crowd. Well, Franklin got there this spring, though not at a football game.

Franklin told Big Ten Network in a recent interview that he attended the April concert by Luke Combs at Beaver Stadium. The concert was the best-attended of Combs' tour, and the largest such event at Beaver Stadium, and Franklin was there, tailgating for the first time at Penn State.

"It was awesome," Franklin told Big Ten Network's Rick Pizzo at the recent Big Ten football coaches meetings. "... Walking around, people are happy, and I'm like, 'This is cool.'"

Franklin referenced the concert in discussing Penn State's planned $700 million renovation of Beaver Stadium, which the university's Board of Trustees approved in May. Penn State has begun the renovation by addressing backlogged maintenance and winterization projects so Beaver Stadium could host a potential College Football Playoff first-round game in December.

Penn State will begin the bulk of the renovation after the 2024 season. The stadium's West stands will be demolished and rebuilt to include club seats, suites and new press and broadcast facilities. The renovation is scheduled to be completed before the 2027 college football season.

Penn State has positioned the renovation as a way to make Beaver Stadium a year-round entertainment destination in central Pennsylvania. Franklin addresses those possibilities in his interview with Big Ten Network. He even mentioned the long-discussed option of bringing the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers to Beaver Stadium for an NHL Winter Classic.

"It's obviously about Penn State football, but it's so much more than that," Franklin told Big Ten Network. "[It's] the impact of Penn State football, our home games, for the other 30 sports on campus. Our games are a huge recruiting opportunity for all the other sports. Obviously as football does well, it impacts all the other sports financially, as well as the community. But I think at the end of the day, we want to have the opportunity to have more concerts. We just had a Luke Combs stadium concert, sold-out. ... Maybe we'll be able to get the Flyers in there against the Penguins, things like that. It will create an opportunity not only for the stadium but really for the community as well. [There's a] ton of different resources that I think will be impactful long-term for Penn State."

Franklin also discussed the offseason staff churn of hiring three new coordinators in Andy Kotelnicki (offense), Tom Allen (defense) and Justin Lustig (special teams). But Franklin added, "We hired three guys that have a similar background and philosophical perspective on all of this, offense, defense and special teams, that the adjustment wasn't as significant as I thought it was going to be."

"It's obviously about Penn State football, but it's so much more than that."

James Franklin shares what the recently approved $700M renovation to Beaver Stadium means for @PennStateFball and @GoPSUsports.#B1Gtoday x #B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/gBV9VTovGR

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) June 10, 2024

Franklin opens his 11th season as Penn State's head coach Aug. 31 at West Virginia. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET on FOX's Big Noon Kickoff.

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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.