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Franklin embraces being face of Penn St post-JoePa

By WTOP Staff

RALPH D. RUSSO
AP College Football Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Penn State coach James Franklin is fine as long as he keeps moving.

Only in those rare moments when he gets to take a break during the Nittany Lions’ coaches caravan, a 17-stop tour spanning most of May, is he in danger of crashing.

“I’m not really good with down time,” Franklin told reporters during stop No. 11 in New York on Wednesday, not far from the site of the Freedom Tower at 1 World Trade Center. “I kind of hit the wall. I think if we just would have come and moved, I would have been fine. But the down time wasn’t good.”

A triple-espresso and a Red Bull had Franklin back to his energetic and chatty self.

“I’m ready!” Franklin said, punctuating his recovery with a couple loud claps. “Watcha got?”

What Penn State’s new coach has is roster whittled down by crippling NCAA sanctions, expectations that might be out of whack after his predecessor’s surprising success, and a fanbase that in some corners is still trying to come to grips with massive changes after decades of stability.

While former Nittany Lions coach Bill O’Brien had a tough time dealing with all that goes into being the face of Penn State in the post-Joe Paterno era, Franklin seems more comfortable with the job.

“I’d love to just sit in a room and draw up plays and Xs and Os and recruit as well, but that’s not what being a college football coach is about,” he said. “It’s everything. It’s getting out and interacting with the fans and the media. It’s talking to alumni. It’s raising money. It’s recruiting. It’s developing the players. It’s reinforcing academics. It’s everything. And my thing is … if you’re going to do it you might as well embrace it. You might as well have fun with it.”

Franklin has been going pretty much nonstop since moving from Vanderbilt to Happy Valley in the middle of January.

The coaches’ caravan is Penn State’s way to connect with its alumni outside of central Pennsylvania, and an opportunity for Franklin to rally support from fans still scarred from the collapse of Paterno’s regime under the weight of the Jerry Sandusky child-sex abuse scandal in 2011.

O’Brien did a remarkable job navigating a tough situation. He became Penn State coach without knowing the school would get hammered by the NCAA with a four-year postseason ban and huge scholarship losses.

O’Brien held the team together, and guided it to 15 victories. Still, those loyal to Paterno made it tough for O’Brien to feel as if he had the full support of the Penn State community. And the many Penn State fans and alumni who did back O’Brien didn’t trust the leadership at the school above him.

After two years of trying to help heal Penn State, O’Brien left for the NFL.

Now the job is Franklin’s. Part of it is the caravan, where he is trying to inject Penn State with the enthusiasm he brought to Vanderbilt.

“At Vanderbilt you were trying to get people to become fans of the local team,” said Franklin, who went 24-15 at Vandy, the best winning percentage for a Commodores coach since the 1940s. “At Penn State, we’re trying to get people that maybe have fallen off the bandwagon to bring them back to being part of the family.”

Attendance at Penn State dipped after the Sandusky scandal. The Nittany Lions drew 96,587 per game last season, which ranks among the best figures in the country. The problem is Beaver Stadium holds more than 107,000. Selling those extra 10,000 tickets is important to the athletic department’s budget.

“(At Vanderbilt), we were trying to sell out a 40,000-seat stadium, which they’d never really sold out,” Franklin said. “Here we’re trying to go to from 95,000 to 107,000. I guess my point is the same message and the same beliefs and the same philosophies are still there. It’s just a little bit different.”

On the field, this is the season the sanctions will really start to sting Penn State. There is so little depth on the offensive line that two defensive linemen were converted and immediately moved to the top of the depth chart.

The presence of sophomore quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who threw for 2,955 yards and 20 touchdowns last season, should help, but Franklin acknowledges it will be a challenge for his staff to hide the team’s deficiencies.

Optimistic by nature, Franklin’s biggest challenge is to get people excited for Penn State football, while not driving up expectations that could already be unrealistic coming off O’Brien’s unexpected success.

He admits it’s difficult, but he is putting it on himself.

“I know this sounds funny,” Franklin said, “but we have 107,000 fans at the game, I want to have an intimate personal relationship with every single one of them.”

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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