Good Friends & Good Times from the Heart of Happy Valley

The Obligatory PSU Pregame Show presented by HappyValley.com will return this Fall for its 6th season as James Franklin and Penn State football gear up for 2021!

Watch the episodes from our Fall 2020 season on Facebook

Thanks again to our key cable affiliate partners Eleven Sports, ATT&T SportsNet, NESN National, and MASN. 

Check back soon for more info on our Fall 2021 season!

Until then, enjoy weekly nonsense with occasional insights about Penn State, life in Happy Valley, and more on The Obligatory PSU Podcast — A Penn State podcast about Penn State (sort of). Trust us, you could definitely do worse.

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SUMMER '21 Episode 4: Unlicensed – The Obligatory PSU Podcast

On July 1, 2021, the epoch of college football that began in 1869 with Rutgers and Princeton playing a bizarre combination of soccer and rugby came to a close, and a whole new era began. That might be overstating things a bit, but not much! If nothing else, the advent of name, image, and likeness (NIL) monetization for college athletes marks an end to the NCAA's increasingly-controversial notion of amateurism as the foundation of intercollegiate athletics, an idea dating back to the early 1900s. One week in, the early returns have included much of the chaos and uncertainty you'd expect from the ruling body's hands-off, Wild West approach to perhaps the most significant change in its history. If nothing else, on the Miami Hurricanes' next trip to the national title game, they'll all be able to afford their own fatigues (although after 16 years in the ACC, maybe they ought to focus on their first appearance in the conference title game to get started). There will plenty of time to assess the new world of college football and plenty more good discussions about it here on the show. For now, we give our early reactions and predictions for how Penn State can navigate this volatile, new landscape.HOSTED BY: Mike Herr, Kevin Horne, Chris BuchignaniSupport Our Great Sponsors:Sign up for a free 30-day trial of Audible: audibletrial.com/ObligatoryPSUHappy Valley Adventure Bureau: HappyValley.comCentral PA Tasting Trail: CentralPATastingTrail.com
  1. SUMMER '21 Episode 4: Unlicensed
  2. SUMMER '21 Episode 3: College Football Playoff Expansion Pt. 2
  3. SUMMER '21 Episode 2: SCOTUS stiff arms the NCAA
  4. SUMMER '21 Episode 1: College Football Playoff Expansion Pt. 1
  5. SPRING '21 Episode 24: Two White Outs Twice As Nice?
The+Obligatory+PSU+PreGame+Show

Each Fall, Nittany Lions fans start their Saturdays with another season of “The Obligatory PSU Pregame Show,” a TV “tailgate” full of the fun, camaraderie, and passion – from joy to heartbreak and back again – that makes Penn State football the healthy obsession of students, alumni, and fans across the country. For every loyal Nittany Lion who can’t be there in person, it’s the next best thing: A weekly dose of Happy Valley to kick off the football weekend.

Starring PSU postal icon, Mike “the Mailman” Herr, every Penn Stater’s favorite and most beloved mailman; Brandon Noble, former defensive tackle for Penn State, the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins; Chris Buchignani, the founding president of The Nittany Valley Society; and Kevin Horne, proud holder of three Penn State degrees and former managing editor of Onward State. Giving you the next-best tailgating experience, no matter how far you are from Dear Old State. They’re the most unlikely and lovable bunch of dudes in football pregame show history.