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Penn State’s annual Coaches Caravan is getting trimmed down a bit this spring. But Wilkes-Barre still made the cut.
For the second straight year, Nittany Lions coach James Franklin will be visiting the area as the Coaches Caravan has scheduled its 12th and final stop for Wilkes-Barre on the evening of May 21.
A time and venue has not been announced. Last year’s event was held at Genetti’s downtown and featured Franklin, offensive coordinator John Donovan, quarterbacks coach Ricky Rahne — who recruits Luzerne County for the Lions — and Penn State baseball coach Rob Cooper.
Details for the 2015 stop will be announced in March. Nittany Lion Club members will be able to register for the event online first before it is opened to the general public.
The Coaches Caravan, which began when Bill O’Brien was hired as coach in 2012, will be stopping in Luzerne County for the third time in its four-year run. In 2012, O’Brien was at the Penn State Hazleton campus before Franklin came to Wilkes-Barre in 2014.
For the first time in those four years, there will not be a stop in Scranton.
The Caravan opens May 5 in Harrisburg and Lancaster before traveling to Washington, D.C., and Baltimore on May 6 and Altoona and the Pittsburgh area on May 7.
After a week off, Franklin and others will make stops in downtown Philadelphia and the suburbs on May 19 and then to New York and north Jersey on May 20.
The final day will consist of an afternoon stop in the Lehigh Valley before rolling into Wilkes-Barre on May 21.
“I really enjoyed meeting so many Penn Staters during the Coaches Caravan last year and am looking forward to traveling around Pennsylvania and surrounding states again this spring,” Franklin said in a statement. “The pride and passion for Penn State, the football program and all our teams is one of the reasons why Penn State so special.
“It’s going to be great spending time with the other coaches and visiting with our loyal alumni and fans throughout the region.”
Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse.