Penn State Head Football Coach to Throw Out Ceremonial First Pitch
Penn State alumni, fans and supporters to have access to special ticket offer
Today it was announced that Penn State Head Football Coach James Franklin, who helped lead the Nittany Lions to a 31-30 overtime victory over the Boston College Eagles in the 2014 New Era Pinstripe Bowl, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Tuesday's 7:05 p.m. Yankees-Rays game at Yankee Stadium.
In his first year as head coach at Penn State in 2014, Franklin led the school to their 45th bowl appearance all-time. The Nittany Lions' victory in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl was their 28th postseason victory, most among all Big Ten institutions and tied for third-most nationally.
"It's such an awesome opportunity to throw out the first pitch and take in a Yankees game at such an iconic stadium," said Franklin. "The Yankees' staff was great to work with and hosted a first-class event in the Pinstripe Bowl. The experience our student-athletes, coaches and staff had at Yankee Stadium in December was second to none. I am looking forward to taking the mound, maybe I will try to get some pitching advice from Masahiro Tanaka or Michael Pineda."
As part of the celebration, a special ticket offer with savings of up to 50% on select seats for Tuesday's game is now available for all Penn State alumni, fans and supporters. For complete details on the offer, fans should visit yankees.com/psu15. Please note that all ticket specials are subject to availability.
In addition, Franklin will also be presented with a custom commissioned piece of art by acclaimed artist Lynn Mara that depicts Sam Ficken's game-winning kick in the final moments of Penn State's victory in the 2014 New Era Pinstripe Bowl. A native of Long Island, New York, Mara is known for her unique works that aim to form a connection between natural environments and the spiritual world.
Established in 2010, the New Era Pinstripe Bowl has seen increased attendance in each of its first five years of existence. In 2014, a record sellout crowd of 49,012 saw Penn State defeat Boston College and establish the bowl's highest all-time attendance figure.
The 2015 New Era Pinstripe Bowl is scheduled to be played on Saturday, December 26, at a to-be-determined kickoff time. The game will mark the second consecutive year that the bowl will feature a team from the Big Ten and ACC. The Big Ten's partnership with the New Era Pinstripe Bowl is the conference's first ever bowl game tie-in on the East Coast.
Tickets for the 2015 New Era Pinstripe Bowl will be made available in the near future. For up-to-the-moment information regarding the game, fans are encouraged to visit pinstripebowl.com, the official website of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, and follow the bowl game's official Twitter and Instagram accounts - @PinstripeBowl.