James Franklin

James Franklin is the head coach of the Penn State University football team. Franklin has been the head coach of Penn State since 2014 and previously was the head coach of Vanderbilt from 2011-2013. Franklin has been a very successful coach in college football, as he is only one of four current FBS coaches to lead his team to a bowl game in each of his first nine seasons as a head coach. As a head coach, Franklin has been given many prestigious awards, including the Woody Hayes Trophy (2016), Sporting News Coach of the Year (2016), and the Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year (2016). Along with personal accolades, Franklin has led Penn State to a Big Ten championship (2016) and a Big Ten East Division (2016). Off the field, Franklin does valuable charity work involving children’s hospitals. Franklin consistently makes sure that his team is involved with community service throughout the year. In 2019, Franklin donated $10,000 to the Children’s Medical Center Dallas and made various other contributions.