Big Ten Media Days have a different look this year and Penn State coach James Franklin doesn’t care much for it.
Since what feels like the dawn of time, the annual late-July event had been held in the Midwest.
For decades, it was in Chicago.
More recently, it had been in Indianapolis.
Now, it’s in Las Vegas.
In an obvious attempt to appease the league’s four newest members— UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington, which all started playing in the Big Ten last year— Media Days was moved to “Sin City.”
For Franklin, it’s just not the same.
WHAT JAMES SAID
For Franklin, one big issue with Media Days being in Vegas is that it made things more difficult for media covering Penn State and other schools to attend.
“A lot of our beat writers did not come to this because they couldn’t afford to get out here,” he said, “and the majority of our teams are near Chicago, where this used to always be. The majority of our teams are near Indianapolis, where this used to be, and it creates a different environment.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Franklin also noticed a general lack of enthusiasm for the event compared to years past.
“I walk around the lobby. I don’t see any signage,” he said. “I don’t see anything for the Big Ten. I don’t see people getting autographs. It’s a different vibe, and it’s a different feeling.
Overall, Franklin felt the SEC did things better.
“I think that other conference (the SEC), when they have their meetings, there’s essentially a press conference every single day at the end of the meetings,” he said. “It keeps people talking about that conference at (this) time of the year. It keeps them relevant. We are not doing that. We need to be talking about the big ten, our programs, the things we’ve done, and making it as accessible to everybody as we possibly can and connecting with the fans.
“Don’t misinterpret what I’m saying. I think Vegas is a special place. I think they run events as well as anybody. But it’s a different feeling. It’s a different feeling, and I’ve been at those other places. Where people are putting up babies for you to autograph for you and stuff. It’s different. I think there’s still some things that we have to be strategic and smart about that are going to put our conference and our schools in the best position on a national level.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME?
Could the Big Ten Championship Game also be moving from Indy to Vegas?
It won’t happen in 2025, but it is possible.
We’ll see what happens.
