It may sound surprising, but the Penn football program is no stranger to ESPN.
And now, the Quakers are again in the spotlight. Next week, Penn football will be the subject of The Season.
The show chronicles the ins and outs of a team, and is the most recent link in a number of ESPN programs featuring Penn football teams.
In 2002, the popular pregame program College Gameday came to Franklin Field before the Penn-Harvard de facto Ivy League championship game.
The following spring, Penn offensive lineman and 2003 graduate Jeff Hatch was featured on an ESPN program chronicling the lives of NFL rookies, as Hatch began his pro career with the New York Giants.
Then, in November 2004, NFL Films aired a clip about the Penn sprint football team as part of a show on unusual sizes in professional football.
Since last week cameras have followed players to class, team meetings, the weight room, meals, their homes and of course -- practice.
"It's been different," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said of his team living in the camera's eye.
When asked if the experience has been enjoyable for his team, Bagnoli said, "I hope so."
Senior linebacker Ric San Doval said that the experience has been both unusual and fun -- especially watching the cameras try to follow his teammates around.
"It was pretty wild -- those guys got these booms following you all over the field, they're trying to follow you to class."
Both San Doval and Bagnoli were very proud of the fact that ESPN chose Penn to showcase life in I-AA football.
"I think it's great for the program," San Doval said. "It shows what you can do at an Ivy League school. It's a great place for serious athletes and serious students."
He added that the program may give the league some positive attention as well.
"It's not only good for the University but for the Ivy League in general," he said.
"It's a terrific endorsement of the kids we have, of the program we have," Bagnoli said.
"We're the only program in I-AA to ever have this program here."
While the schedule has not yet been released, San Doval said that the show will air a week from today on ESPN2.
ESPN's 'The Season' - Show will air next week - Penn is the first DivisionI-AA school to be featured on the show - Players are followed to practice, meetings and classes
