PITTSBURGH– There is little doubt about who the star of the show on Penn State’s Coaches Caravan is.
James Franklin is the main attraction.
He is one of the main reasons why people buy tickets for a dinner or lunch at one of the 12 caravan stops he is making.
So for the coaches who travel along with him there is usually a fair amount of second fiddle to be played. The exception to that rule last year was Cael Sanderson who was closely followed by his own group of wrestling fanatics. Other than that, it’s Franklin and then everyone else.
But as the last stop of the caravan’s first week came to a close late Thursday it marked the final appearance of Penn State men’s hockey coach Guy Gadowsky, who has in his own right become the focus of attention. His involvement was a symbolic display, illustrating how quickly the hockey program has climbed up the totem poll of Penn State athletics.
From being the hottest ticket in town to becoming only the third sport on campus to generate a positive cash flow, Penn State men’s hockey is only going up from here.
And that showed during his leg of the tour. Nearly 45 minutes of interviews, questions at every stop about how to get tickets, even more questions about the possibility of hockey being played in Beaver Stadium.
In Pittsburgh, Gadowsky held court with some of the cities’ hockey writers. For a state that boasts perhaps the best rivalry in professional hockey, the lack of any dominant collegiate program has kept Pennsylvania from earning the same kind of hockey-state recognition of the likes of Minnesota or Michigan.
That won’t change overnight, and certainly Gadowsky being an interesting interview doesn’t change the state’s hockey reputation. But what makes it interesting is how fast he has made his program relevant to the people who follow Penn State athletics.
Following the season the Nittany Lions had in 2014-15, with Casey Bailey heading to the NHL, fans’ curiosity has developed into full blow interest.
To be sure James Franklin will continue to be the big man on campus and that isn’t looking to change anytime soon.
But if Gadowsky and his program continue on their upward trajectory, they might just give Franklin a run for his money.
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