College sports championships often take place in venues not regularly used for the involved teams’ games, and that can sometimes lead to issues around where things happen. That includes press conferences, and that was seen after the Big Ten Football Championship Game Saturday night.
That game saw the No. 1 Oregon Ducks beat the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions 45-37 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. Afterwards, a presser for head coach James Franklin and several players got interrupted by the Oregon band playing their fight song in an adjacent room, and Franklin wasn’t thrilled by that, calling it a junior varsity setup:
Oregon band was playing the school fight song in the room adjacent to the post-game news conference. The moderator asked to pause to let the band finish.
Penn State coach James Franklin said: “I have no issue with them celebrating, but this is kind of a JV setup.”
— John Canzano (@johncanzanobft) December 8, 2024
James Franklin’s postgame presser just got interrupted by the Oregon band playing the fight song outside.
“I have no problem with them celebrating, but this is kind of a JV set-up.” pic.twitter.com/FD71tfLoty
— Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) December 8, 2024
This can be seen in fuller context in this Blue White Illustrated video of Franklin’s full 20-minute press conference, with the band noise starting around 3:25 (after Franklin finishes his opening statement, and while they’re setting up to take questions) and running through 4:04.
There, Franklin asks “How is this a smart setup?” A reporter then tries to ask QB Drew Allar a question, and the moderator holds off, saying “If we could hang tight for just a second, we’ll try to get that audio turned down next door.” And Franklin says “I’ve got no issue with them celebrating, but this is kind of a JV setup.” After the band finishes at 4:04, there are loud cheers. The press conference resumes without more band interruption, but there are further cheers from outside that disrupt the next minute of this. The audio seems largely fine after that, though.
This isn’t the first case where college sports championship press arrangements have come under fire. Earlier this year, the NCAA women’s basketball tournament took criticism for holding a Caitlin Clark press session next to a loading dock, with a rep responding by blasting media who asked about it.
It’s unclear if the Franklin interview room was specifically close to an area where the Oregon band was expected to be or if the band decided to play nearby during Franklin’s presser as a troll move. The former case would be a larger organizer problem. But even in the latter case, it would seemingly be possible to block off areas around the interview room to avoid excessive outside noise.
There have been many criticisms floated of Franklin’s reaction here, particularly from Ducks’ fans and fans of Penn State rivals. And it’s of course possible to argue he shouldn’t care about having to wait a bit for the band to finish, especially if this was a one-time play of the song rather than a repeated one (it’s unclear if that’s the case). It is notable, too, that this came after a frustrating and close loss, and that it was part of a larger presser where Franklin had a lot of complaints, including about the referees. So there’s lots of context to consider here.
But Franklin has at least part of a point with this specific comment about the setup. It seemingly should be possible in a giant NFL stadium (or a NBA stadium, as was the case with the Clark press session described above; of note, that was a NCAA-organized tournament, this is a Big Ten-organized game) to find interview/press conference rooms in quiet locations, and/or keep noisy elements away while those interviews or pressers are being conducted. And that’s not just about the comfort of the interviewees, but also about letting the media do their jobs with as little interruption and as good sound quality as possible. And the amount of noise during the band’s performance here did make interviews untenable; that’s why the moderator asks for the reporter to hold off.
A brief interruption for an opposing fight song being played nearby isn’t the end of the world, of course. Franklin was able to go on with this presser and get out his thoughts on officiating and other issues. But press conference location, and keeping areas around that location as clear of noise as possible, is an important consideration for any major event. And this is just the latest case where a presser at a big college sports event, with a huge budget and in a professional sports stadium or arena, has looked, well, JV.
[Zachary Neel on X, image from Penn State Football on Blue White Illustrated on YouTube]
