Penn State Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Sandy Barbour met with the media via Zoom Tuesday afternoon to provide an update on Penn State Athletics’ business and field questions about the department.

Barbour’s comments fell mostly in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, including the potential return of fans to Beaver Stadium, a permanent men’s basketball coach, and the prospect of cutting sports programs to save money.

Here are the highlights and takeaways from Barbour’s virtual press conference:

On The Coronavirus Pandemic

Although the pandemic seemed to be intertwined in most of Barbour’s responses, she did take time to give a general update on Athletics’ handling of the virus. She explained that since March 2020, Penn State’s top priorities have been health and safety.

Barbour said the department is trying to “intercept” the health and safety precautions needed during the pandemic with the slice of normalcy everyone is reaching for.

“I’ve been pretty clear about our priorities, and that’s certainly health and safety — health and safety of our student-athletes, our coaches, our staff, and then ultimately that ultimately impact our community,” Barbour said. “So much for our students is different. The ability to play, the ability to go to school, the ability to train is really part of trying to provide them with some small piece of normalcy.”

She also said the general feeling around Athletics is “confident and upbeat” despite the pandemic. Student-athletes have been able to grow and develop despite the various health and safety protocols being in place. Fifteen of the university’s 31 athletic programs are back up and running or competing this spring.

On Blue-White Game, Football’s Spring Ball

When Penn State football’s 2020 Blue-White game was canceled last March, the gravity of the pandemic set in for lots of folks. Fast forward nearly a year, Penn State students and fans alike are itching for news as vaccines continue to roll out.

However, Barbour says that it’s just too soon to say.

“If it were to be today, we’d be limited to about 2,500 in Beaver Stadium,” Barbour said. “We’re gonna have to get a lot closer to what the timeframe would be before we can really decide if we’re going to have a Blue-White game and what that might look like.”

Barbour did say, however, that Penn State football would definitely have spring ball, which she described as “winter conditioning and training.” She said that, like every other Penn State sport at this time, the football team will be able to practice together on a field. All necessary health and safety protocols will remain in place.

On Men’s Basketball’s Head Coach

When Penn State men’s basketball head coach Patrick Chambers resigned in October, Barbour announced that the university would undergo a national search to fill the position. Jim Ferry has since stepped up as the interim shot-caller, but we don’t know just yet if he’s going to be the guy for years to come.

Barbour said the university plans to name a head coach “immediately following” the conclusion of the season. Penn State has been searching for and vetting candidates throughout the entire season, getting “ahead of the game.” It’s quite possible the Nittany Lions will stick with Ferry, who’s done a solid job all things considered.

“My evaluation of coach Ferry has really been outstanding,” Barbour said. “He obviously took over a difficult situation. The Big Ten is an absolute beast, and you add to that COVID-19…In terms of managing the great young men in our program, he gets stellar grades. We had a little bit of a losing streak there, but you got to give Jim credit for keeping the faith, keeping the confidence.”

Barbour later added that Ferry has shown interest in being a candidate for the final job from the beginning of the process. She said that he’s obviously had a bit of a “hands-on” audition for the spot in comparison to other guys around the country who may be vying for the position. Barbour emphasized “fit” as the biggest factor in the final decision.

On Fans In Beaver Stadium

While the Blue-White game is still up in the air, everyone is still holding their breath and crossing their fingers about having fans in Beaver Stadium for the fall 2021 season.

“We’re planning, obviously, on a 2021 season where we’ll have fans,” Barbour said. “We can scale up from everything 107 [thousand] on down. As we get closer to that, we’ll have to look at restrictions, what they are, and what the financial ramifications will be.”

Barbour said Penn State is thinking down the line about the “operational” things about the games, citing masks and vaccines. She questioned whether folks will need to show some sort of vaccine certificate or wear a face mask to enter the stadium.

Barbour said she expects some people to not come to games because of health concerns. However, Penn State will adjust and adapt from a revenue standpoint.

On Cutting Programs, Budgets

While schools like Minnesota and Iowa have cut certain sports from their athletics programming to save money amid the pandemic, that won’t be happening at Penn State.

“Some around us have elected to cut programs. That’s not something I’m interested in, it’s not something I’m looking at,” Barbour said. “We’ve got a very proud tradition and legacy of a large, robust program.”

Earlier in the pandemic, Barbour and Penn State had predicted a net budget shortfall of around $60 to $90 million, but that number is only around $20 to $25 million now. Things like donations, season ticket rollovers, and fundraising campaigns have helped make that number a bit more manageable.

“I referred before to both individual and organizational sacrifices,” Barbour said. “Our employees have taken pay cuts, we’ve had a small number of furloughs, we’ve held positions open, we’ve reduced our expenses by somewhere north of $25 million.”

Barbour said Penn State also tapped into its reserve funds, which Athletics was “storing away to do something else with,” to help make up for lost revenue.

On James Franklin, Football’s Virus Success

While we already knew Penn State football didn’t miss any games due to the coronavirus last season, Barbour announced that just one player tested positive for COVID-19 throughout the regular season. Penn State confirmed it was contracted from an external gathering and not spread within the program.

Barbour lauded Franklin for the program’s success with the virus. He made it a point from day one to emphasize mask-wearing and following the necessary health and safety protocols.

“James led the way, James modeled the behavior, James held them accountable, and the guys bought in,” Barbour said. “He’s not just a football coach and not just interested in what happens on the field, he’s interested in being a citizen of our society, and being a damn good one.”

She did recognize, however, football’s shortcomings on the field in the beginning of the season. Barbour called the 0-5 start “challenging and disturbing.”

But things like injuries, opt-outs, and a pandemic certainly played a role in the slow start. Barbour said the back half of the season was much more indicative of the program.

“I feel very confident about James’ leadership, where our staff is, and where our young men are right now and I’m looing forward to 2021,” Barbour said.