Sports

James Franklin Is Already Making The Same Excuses At Virginia Tech That He Did At Penn State

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Sep 26, 2026; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies head coach James Franklin in the first half against the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium.

Edward Finan-Imagn Images

Sep 26, 2026; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies head coach James Franklin in the first half against the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium.


By most accounts, James Franklin‘s first season as the head coach of the Virginia Tech Hokies has been a success through eight games. Franklin has the Hokies at 6-2 after a 3-9 season a year ago, and they may well be favored in three of their four remaining games.

However, the season hasn’t exactly been perfect. Franklin has struggled with some of the same problems he had at Penn State that ultimately led to his firing.

The Hokies were 4-0 when they lost a home, night game to Pitt despite the Panthers playing with a backup quarterback for most of the game. Then the loss carried over to the following week, when they went on the road and lost to a lowly Cal team.

Both of those issues – losing in big games and letting one emotional loss lead to another – were familiar to Penn State fans who were ready for a change of voice.

On Monday, Franklin issued another familiar refrain from his time in State College.

James Franklin Says Virginia Tech’s Lack Of An Airport Makes Life Difficult

During his 12 seasons at Penn State, Franklin routinely complained about the fact that the Nittany Lions didn’t have an international airport near the school. The closest one is 90 minutes away in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Franklin blamed the lack of a large airport in State College both for recruiting struggles and for difficulty in away games, since the team had to fly out of Harrisburg.

Now, he’s doing the same at Virginia Tech.

““I think when you’re in places like Blacksburg, Virginia… it becomes more complicated to travel than maybe some other locations because you don’t have an international airport within 45 minutes of campus,” Franklin said on Monday.

College football fans were quick to call him out on it.

Notably, the closest international airport to the University of Alabama is in Birmingham, about an hour away. That didn’t seem to hinder Nick Saban all that much, though.

Franklin won plenty of games at Penn State. He may well win plenty of games at Virginia Tech. But these are the types of things that eventually drive fans crazy.