May 17, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK - Penn State football coach Bill O'Brien, who earned three national Coach of the Year honors in 2012, will be profiled on HBO's Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel.
The feature story on O'Brien will debut on Tuesday, May 21 at 10 p.m. ET and re-air several times on HBO and HBO2 through June 8. The program also will be available on HBO On Demand from May 27-June 17.
O'Brien, the 2012 Big Ten-Dave McClain Coach of the Year, was interviewed by Andrea Kremer for the profile. The producer of the feature is Chapman Downes.
O'Brien was selected the 2012 Bear Bryant, Maxwell Football Club and ESPN Coach of the Year after leading the Nittany Lions to wins in eight of their final 10 games. In his first season as a head coach and 20th year of coaching, O'Brien also was selected the Hayes-Schembechler Big Ten Coach of the Year after guiding Penn State to an 8-4 overall (6-2 Big Ten) record amidst significant challenges.
The Nittany Lions' 15th head coach all-time, O'Brien was just the seventh first-year head coach to earn the Big Ten Coach of the Year in the 41 years it has been awarded. His eight wins were the most by a first-year Penn State coach in the 126 years of the program.
O'Brien engineered a dynamic, fast-paced offense that featured the Big Ten's passing leader (Matt McGloin), top receiver (Allen Robinson) and a running back (Zach Zwinak) who gained 100 yards six times in eight Big Ten games and 1,000 yards for the season. McGloin broke 10 school passing records during the last season and Robinson, the 2012 Big Ten Receiver of the Year, eclipsed the Penn State record for season receptions with 77. Penn State led the Big Ten in total offense (437.0 ypg) in conference games and was second in scoring offense (32.6 ppg) and second in pass offense (283.1 ypg) against Big Ten foes last season.
Now in its 19th season, Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel is TV's most honored sports journalism series and the only sports program recognized with a prestigious 2012 George Foster Peabody Award. At the 34th Annual Sports Emmy® Awards on May 7, Real Sports captured two trophies, for Outstanding Edited Sports Series and for Outstanding Long Feature for the 2012 profile of former New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason. Real Sports has won the Sports Emmy® for Outstanding Sports Journalism 15 times and has received 25 Sports Emmy® Awards overall.
Penn State returns 16 starters and 38 letterwinners for this year. Season tickets are available for the 2013 campaign. The Nittany Lions will host five bowl teams from 2012, including three teams that finished in the BCS Top 25: Michigan (Oct. 12-Homecoming), Nebraska (Nov. 23) and Kent State (Sept. 21). Purdue, Illinois, UCF and Eastern Michigan also will visit Beaver Stadium this fall.
Penn State opens the 2013 season Aug. 31 vs. Syracuse in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Nittany Lion Club members can order tickets for the Syracuse game at 1-800-NITTANY. The public sale for tickets in the Penn State section begins June 17 at 10 a.m. by calling 1-800-NITTANY.
For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.