Penn State's James Franklin Isn't a Fan of Big Ten Football Media Days in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS | While other Big Ten football coaches Viva Las Vegas'd this year's site of Big Ten Football Media Days, Penn State's James Franklin wasn't thrilled. Not with the city but with the conference's decision to pull its annual preseason football media event out of the Big Ten's traditional footprint.

"I think having the Big Ten Media Days in Big Ten country is important," Franklin said Wednesday.

The Big Ten is hosting its three-day football media preview in Las Vegas for the first time after concentrating in Chicago and, post-2020, Indianapolis. Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti explained that 1) Lucas Oil Stadium, the event's site since 2021, was booked and 2) that Las Vegas will host the 2027 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament and the 2028 women's tournament and 3) that it's a gesture to the conference's new West Coast teams.

Illinois coach Bret Bielema is a fan of the move. "Vegas also holds a special place in my heart. My wife and I met here in 2008 at the Wynn Casino," he said.

So is Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck. " Viva Las Vegas, baby. I absolutely love this city, so this is great for us to be able to be here," he practically shouted from the stage. Maryland's Mike Locksley channeled Elvis.

Elvis is back in the building! 😂

Mike Locksley brought his best Elvis impression to Vegas.#B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/qtiaTG3pjm
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) July 22, 2025

But Franklin, not so much. Again, nothing against the city itself. "I think Vegas is a special place, and I think they run events as well as anybody," Franklin said. "But it's a different feeling." Perhaps it didn't help that Franklin has to fly back across the country to appear at a Penn State NIL event in New Jersey on Thursday.

Franklin's answer stemmed from a question regarding what he learned as a head coach in the SEC (he spent three years at Vanderbilt). Franklin often brings up his SEC experience as being a key part of his resume and knowledge base. A key point Franklin internalized was the SEC's "commitment to winning at the highest level and complete buy-in" of its programs.

"I think there's a lot of schools and a lot of programs that do this now, but I think the SEC for a long time was a conference that did not try to play games and act like everybody was the same and everybody was equal when they're not," Franklin said.

That led Franklin to note that he has seen the Big Ten become more "bold and aggressive," as a conference and that it won the last two College Football Playoff titles. Franklin added that the Big Ten still could "steal" some ideas from the SEC, and vice versa. That led to his unprompted assessment of Big Ten Football Media Days in Las Vegas.

Franklin framed his answer around regional traditions, travel time and costs and branding. Specifically, Franklin compared the Big Ten's branding with the SEC. He also said the majority of the conference teams are not on the West Coast.

"Do we have a West Coast influence now? Do we need to pay respect to those programs? Yes," Franklin said. "... But I know, from the Penn State perspective, a lot of our beat writers did not come to this because they couldn't afford to get out here. 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. I walk around the lobby, I don't see any signage. 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.

"I think that other conference [the SEC], when they have their [spring] meetings, there's essentially a press conference every single day at the end of the meetings. It keeps people talking about that conference at a time of the year and makes them relevant. We're not doing that."

Franklin, entering his 12th season at Penn State with perhaps his best team, continued the train of thought regarding the Big Ten. He pounded the podium at several intervals.

"We need to be talking about the Big Ten and our programs and the things that we have done and making it as accessible to everybody as we possibly can and connecting with the fans," he said. "And don't misinterpret what I'm saying. I think Vegas is a special place, and 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 and stuff. It's different. So I think there's still some things that we've got to be strategic and smart about that are going to put our conference and our schools in the best position on a national level, in my opinion."

Penn State’s James Franklin not a fan of Big Ten Media Days in Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/oY6EuxWpME
— Mark Brennan (@MarkXBrennan) July 23, 2025

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