The Penn State Coaches Caravan tailgate tour stopped at the Sands Bethlehem Event Center back in May 21. Five of the PSU men's sports team coaches, headed by the new Penn State football coach, James Franklin, talked to the largest crowd of alumni and fans during the 17 stop coaches' tour.

Penn State is set to kick off its 2014 season in Ireland this weekend, but the excitement was already building months ago.

You could see the camaraderie present among the five men's athletic coaches as they took turns talking to the full house of PSU sports fans. Head football coach, Franklin, headlined the bus tour that appeared at many Penn State alumni strongholds across the Keystone State and the Mid-Atlantic region. The energetic Franklin attended all 17 programs. The coaches visited Franklin's alma mater, East Stroudsburg University, that morning. Franklin was a standout quarterback during his time at ESU.

PSU coaches in attendance at the Lehigh Valley stop, at the Sands Bethlehem Event Center included: men's basketball coach, Patrick Chambers; Mark Pavik, men's volleyball coach; Rob Cooper, the new men's baseball coach; Guy Gadowsky, men's hockey coach; and of course, head football coach, Franklin.

Basketball coach, Chambers, led off the discussions. He completed his fourth season at PSU. He touted all the coaches and teams at PSU and even did a little dance trying to get the other coaches to join in, but he ended up doing a solo performance. One of the issues he stressed was that the PSU athletic teams were number two in the country among NCAA Division I Universities and that the women's teams were number one in the NCAA Division I.

He also acknowledged the contribution of the pep band as an integral part of the athletic atmosphere at sports events. His basketball team won 16 games. They held Northwestern to a total of 32 points. The team was the top defensive team in the Big Ten and swept Ohio State, beating both Ohio State and Indiana State on the road. He emphasized that 75-percent of the 2013-2014 team will return for next season. Chambers finished his talk by saying, "Let's make sure that Beaver Stadium is sold out every time James (Franklin) and his team plays there."

Chambers was followed by men's volleyball coach, Pavik. Pavik just completed his 20th year as head volleyball coach at PSU. His team finished their season 25-7. They were 13-1 in the Big Ten. Pavik's team won the NCAA Championship in 2008 and he was named NCAA Volleyball Coach of the Year.

"I feel like I'm in a rock band touring with these coaches, but when I mentioned it to my wife she brought me back to reality and she said, no," Pavlik said.

He stressed that there is only one senior on next year's team and the team captain is a sophomore. He closed his portion of the program by saying, "If I had one wish for the alumni I would grant that they were able to go back for one day as an undergraduate at Penn State."

The crowd cheered in agreement.

Men's hockey coach, Guy Gadowsky, followed Pavik.

"Obviously, it is wonderful to be here with my fellow coaches. When I arrived at Penn State there was no hockey affiliation. Now, University Park has the new Pegula Ice Arena is a 6,014 seat multipurpose arena," he said.

The arena opened on October 11, 2013, when PSU hosted Army. The new ice arena replaced the much smaller 1,350 Penn State Ice Arena. The PSU mens and womens ice hockey teams moved to the NCAA Division I level for the 2012-2013 season. Gadowsky said Franklin had been teasing him to say goodbye like many hockey players do. With that he took out his false teeth plate and said goodbye to the audience with a big gap-toothed grin. Coach Franklin was the first to give Gadowsky a high-five and a gentleman's hug.

Rob Cooper, PSU's new baseball coach followed Gadowsky. Cooper was named the Rod Dedeaux USA Coach of the Year after traveling to Taiwan as head coach of the USA Baseball's 18U National Team at the IBAF U18 World Cup in 2013. He coached Team USA to an 8-1 record, including seven-consecutive victories and the gold medal. All of these accomplishments and honors took place shortly after he accepted the PSU men's baseball head coaching job.

"This is just awesome," he said. "I get to follow those three (coaches) and then I'm followed by James (Franklin)."

"What is your dream job? I've got it. When I first met Coach Franklin I was pumped. We've got the best football coach in the country," Cooper said.

Cooper pretended to take a cell phone call from his 10 year-old son, Jake, telling hockey coach Gadowsky that Jake wants to take a ride on the Zamboni. He also said Jake's birthday is in a month and Jake wants Coach Franklin to come to the party.

Cooper closed his portion of the program saying, "There is a hat being passed around. So, please be generous. I lost some money in the casino."

Then he introduced Coach Franklin saying, PSU was lucky on Jan. 11, 2014, to hire James Franklin. He's undefeated, but he needs a few wins to catch up to Pavik's wins.

Coach Franklin took the podium to a standing ovation.

He began by saying, "We currently have the number-2 recruiting (college football) rank in the country. I'm P.O.'ed. We were number-1. We have seven of the top 10 players in Pennsylvania and nine of the top 250 in the country.

"We're selling four things. One, the opportunity to get a world class education. Two, the opportunity to play big time football. Three, the opportunity to be part of a community that is unbelievable. We had 72,000 fans at the Blue and White Game; a practice game. Four, the opportunity and chance for early playing time.

"Our staff is very positive. If we get these kids on campus they are hooked. The pride and the passion of Penn State is unbelievable. These kids learn how much we care about them. You do the little things in the right way and the big things will take care of themselves. This is not my program. This is your program.

"Thon (a three-day dance marathon, held each year in February by the PSU students to raise money to conquer pediatric cancer) raised 13 million dollars this year. That's student dedication.

"People have been questioning our culture. Do you want to know our culture? Number one, have a positive attitude. Number two, have an unrivaled work ethic. Number three, compete in everything you do. You have to work hard for what you want. And number four, Sacrifice."

Franklin closed his talk by yelling three times, "We are..." And of course the crowd answered all three times with a boisterous and energetic, "Penn State."

The evening program ended with a question and answer period involving all five coaches.