As the transfer portal and NIL have massively changed the college football landscape, coaches and athletic departments have been rushing to either bolster their roster through the transfer portal, maintain their roster from other programs poaching players through NIL, or both. James Franklin is attempting a major lift in Happy Valley.

NIL collectives, while still not directly sanctioned through the schools, have become almost the most important aspect for a school’s recruiting pitch to high school recruits and transfer portal players.

Last month, to aid Penn State in this effort, Penn State’s Happy Valley United, Penn State’s NIL collective, announced a “Retain the Roar” campaign targeted at raising $500k for Penn State’s NIL fund to retain the players on Penn State’s roster and attract transfer portal options to fill roster holes.

On Thursday, Penn State Football head coach James Franklin took to X in an impassioned video to make a pitch for Penn State’s “Retain the Roar” campaign.

🚨 PSA from @coachjfranklin

We need your help Nittany Nation!

We are just over 25% of our goal with the Retain The Roar Campaign…

But we need ALL of the Penn State Family to get us across the Finish Line 😤

Let’s show them who #WEARE 🦁

DONATE 👉 https://t.co/c9spxpak4n pic.twitter.com/teZDX3SkNf

— State Media (@StateMediaPSU) May 16, 2024

---

James Franklin Aiming to Close NIL Gap at Penn State

In the video, James Franklin begins by stating Penn State football’s goal, “to compete for championships and doing it the right way.”

Franklin continued stating that a “strong NIL program is a foundational component of building and maintaining an elite roster of players that will ensure our program is competitive in today’s college football.”

According to Franklin, Penn State must “ensure we do everything we can to guarantee our roster is the best it can possibly be for this upcoming season” including bolstering the Happy Valley United NIL fund to maintain Penn State’s star players and attract options to fill roster holes.

At the end of the video, Franklin reiterates that he truly appreciates Penn State fans’ support and everything that fans do for the program.

As of Thursday afternoon, Penn State’s “Retain the Roar” campaign has reached 27 percent of the $500k goal ($139,372), with donations from 308 supporters. Fans that want to donate can do so at https://givebutter.com/retaintheroar.

MORE: Revisiting Franklin’s Biggest Recruiting Trail Wins at Penn State

 

A note to our readers; If you make a purchase through one of our affiliate links, we may receive a commission