Penn State dials up NIL push ahead of Ohio State scrap
Penn State head coach James Franklin made plain the program’s priority this week. Asked Monday afternoon about the impact of recruiting and name, image, and likeness opportunities that will spring up surrounding his No. 3-ranked Nittany Lions’ tilt with No. 4 Ohio State on Saturday afternoon, the answer was straightforward.
“Nothing changes for us,” Franklin said. “We have our same process with the players in terms of how we operate with those topics in season. Our guys do a good job with that.”
The effort for Franklin to keep the main thing the main thing does not preclude the program’s vast supporting infrastructure from kicking into action, though.
So far this week, the Nittany Lions’ collective for fan-supported NIL fundraising, Happy Valley United, has announced a “1-0” campaign. Backed by an anonymous donation of $25,000, the campaign is being matched up to that amount with a request to fans.
If every Penn State fan who stepped foot inside Beaver Stadium during the 2024 season gave to “1-0”, we would cement Penn State football as a College Football powerhouse.
Every single $25+ donation will be entered for a chance to receive the following:
Three (3) signed footballs by various Penn State Football Players
Three (3) signed limited edition photos of Ryan Barker’s field goal vs USC
Two (2) tickets to the Happy Valley United “Whiteout Weekend: White Party” Event
Penn State vs. Ohio State VIP Game Experience Sweepstakes
On top of the 1-0 NIL campaign by HVU, the organization is also partnering with PlayFly Max on a “VIP Game Experience” for this weekend’s top five showdown. Extending the campaign into Thursday, entries are being taken for fans who donate to the NIL campaign for a prize package valued at $2,800.
Entries are attached to various donation tiers ranging from 100 for a $10 donation. Up to 30,000 entries are attached for a $1,000 donation.
Penn State keeps football the priority
Discussing all of the external noise attached to this weekend’s game, Franklin said his priority has been on limiting the extent to which outside obligations impact the program this week.
“I think that’s a big part of my job. We have some media policies. Kind of just how we govern ourselves, how we go about our business. Which is magnified weeks like this when everybody reaches out and wants to do interviews with specific players,” said Franklin. “By saying, ‘Players are only going to do two interviews max per week,’ helps with that, helps manage that. It’s kind of the same with the staff.
“(We’re) trying to keep this thing as consistent and as structured as possible so that we can stick to our normal routine. But all the other things, the stadium, different things that are going on, we don’t deal with that. That’s where Vinnie (James) and Pat (Kraft), the administration handle all those things for me.
“I’m worried about the last football building, the practice field, Beaver Stadium, the playing field, the locker room. All those other things outside of that, we try not to spend any, if not very little, time on it.”
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