Dec. 9, 2014
NEW YORK - The first official event of the Penn State bowl season took place on Tuesday inside Yankee Stadium when representatives from Penn State, Boston College, the New York Yankees and the bowl game participated in a New Era Pinstripe Bowl announcement press conference.
The Nittany Lions and Eagles will collide in the fifth Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 27 at 4:30 p.m. (ESPN) in Yankee Stadium. For head coach James Franklin and Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour, Tuesday was an opportunity to talk about the excitement leading up to the postseason matchup.
"I think it's awesome. Two regional institutions coming together to play in a game in the Northeast in one of the most storied stadiums in the country," Franklin said. "I just think it is an unbelievable opportunity. It's going to be a great experience for all of us."
"There are a number of reasons this is really special to us," Barbour said. "This is a special team and a special group of guys. It's a mix of young guys and those who have been around through Penn State's difficult times. I'm really proud of this group."
The Penn State staff members in attendance toured through some of Yankee Stadium's rich history and got a glimpse of the setup for a football game. The Nittany Lions are scheduled to return to New York on Dec. 22 to commence Pinstripe Bowl game week preparations.
"Walking through today and seeing all of the history and all of the tradition and all of the championships and all of the great players and what this place means and what this place means to the city of New York, there is a lot of parallels with Penn State and what Beaver Stadium means to our people, all of the championships and all of the great players," Franklin said.
New Era Pinstripe Bowl Executive Director Mark Holtzman echoed the anticipation leading up to the game. Holtzman informed the group of a number of events the teams will take part in while in New York City, including a visit to the 9/11 Memorial, Radio City Christmas Spectacular and the New York Stock Exchange. Take a look through some of Tuesday's press conference highlights from Yankee Stadium.