Years ago, while I was coaching at Penn State, our head coach came into a staff meeting to remind us to control recruiting travel expenses.
“Remember that other athletes, men and women, came to compete in their sports. They all have the same or maybe even greater drive to win as our players. They need resources too, so let’s not be pigs.”
Some of that perspective came from serving as Penn State’s athletics director in the early 1980s. He was right then and he’s right now.
In all my years watching Penn State sports, certainly there are memorable football games that stand out. But beyond football or basketball or wrestling, we’ve witnessed other thrilling Penn State moments that endure.
We stand at a time when the financial pressures on athletic budgets make dollars for Olympic sports scarcer. It’s a good time to remind ourselves of the power of some of these teams.
1. 2009 Women’s Volleyball National Title Match
Penn State women’s volleyball was on a dynastic run of four straight national titles under Russ Rose. The Nittany Lions were undefeated and had not lost a set all year. But in the national title match, Texas won the first two sets and seemed to have control.
Certainly, for all of us in the arena in Tampa, it did not look good. But after the break something clicked.
A team of champions found themselves in unfamiliar territory, but point-by-point they climbed back and won the national championship. When it was over, some of the finest athletes ever to play any sport at Penn State were exhausted but jubilant. They’d emerged victorious on the razor thin edge of adversity separating winning from losing.
2. Penn State Women’s Basketball Reaches No. 1
In the early 1990s, I’d started my career at the University of Virginia. Women’s basketball coach Debbie Ryan had the number one team in the country. On a January night, coach Rene Portland and No. 2 Penn State came into old University Hall. The two teams traded punches and counterpunches. Finally, Penn State hit a late shot to win the game and earn the program’s first-ever number one ranking.
Neither team ever let up, it just happened that among two teams of true competitors one team hit one more shot.
3. 2024 National Women’s Volleyball Semifinals
In the national semifinals, Nebraska jumped out to grab the first two sets. Point by point you hoped that Penn State might be able to fight their way back into the match. But even the most optimistic Penn Staters were losing hope while they repeatedly fended off match point after match point.
Coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley and her team remained calm and chipped away. But how long could they hang on? Despite the analytics win probability for Nebraska hovering between 99.9% and 100%, we witnessed how sheer force of will, heart and soul cannot be measured by numbers. Penn State won the match and then won the national title over Louisville on the Cardinals’ home court in front of the biggest crowd ever to watch the women’s volleyball national championship game in person.
Those were three of the most memorable sports moments I’ve ever witnessed at Penn State, or anywhere for that matter. Anyone who tells you that women’s sports are somehow less worthy of our attention hasn’t been paying attention.
In 2026, financial pressures of athletic departments are colliding with the need to invest in women’s sports at a time of opportunity and growth. And these sports serve an even greater role off the field, court, ice or pitch.
In a nation that needs to forge leaders with a grasp of empathy, teamwork and uniting in common cause, sports are more important than ever. Sports can transform lives lived in front of screens and dominated by social media silos. And the benefits we see for young women in sports are cornerstones for successful lives.
At a recent meeting of leaders from major universities, a prominent former administrator warned that “The politics of cutting Olympic sports may not be acceptable but be vigilant against those who want to cut budgets so much that they simply become glorified club sports.”
Robbing opportunities for future generations would be devastating. Decades of sports opportunities for women and men have transformed lives and produced incredible leaders.
Enter ice hockey…
Witnessing the Penn State men’s hockey team’s overtime win to advance to the 2025 Frozen Four was incredible. When the game-winning goal found its way to the back of the net, there was a moment of pause for your mind to process exactly what you’d just seen, exactly what it meant and the joy of victory.
And last Friday, despite falling just short, another ice hockey moment took its place alongside the memorable nights I’ve had watching Penn State sports. In an historic season, Penn State women’s ice hockey made their first-ever Frozen Four.
Wisconsin and Ohio State came to the Women’s Frozen Four in Pegula Ice Arena as prohibitive favorites to run away from their semifinal opponents. After the Buckeyes defeated Northeastern 5-0 in the first game, the Badgers seemed poised to do the same to Penn State.
Over the years, I’ve found that in games against a supposedly heavy favorite the start of the game is important. Getting the first score or answering that first score often creates a sense of belief on the team and with the fans.
Penn State’s early toughness and aggressive play got the Women’s Frozen Four record crowd into the game right away. The building was simply electric. It exploded when the Nittany Lions scored the first goal just 1:52 into the game. Penn State students, trained to intimidate visiting teams in a range of sports, fed off the moment.
True belief in Penn State entered the chat.
Wisconsin punched back less than two minutes later to tie the game. Would that start a Badger run? They were all over the Penn State zone, racking up a big advantage in shots on goal. But Penn State countered to take a 2-1 lead before Wisconsin took a 3-2 lead into the third period.
Would Wisconsin’s depth finally wear down Penn State? Would the Badgers assert their will onto this game? Could Penn State goalie Katie DeSa keep fighting off waves of shots?
This is where you find out the great spirit of true competitors.
In that third period, Penn State was the better team. Leadership and intensity emerged as they aggressively buzzed all around the goal. They outshot Wisconsin 13-5 and finally tied it when Tessa Janecke scored her second goal of the night to tie the game 3-3 with 4:59 left to go.
Penn State had several near misses that could’ve won the game but neither team would go gently into that night. Two teams of intense competitors finally were separated by one last punch of a Badger overtime power play game-winner.
And just as a year ago in Allentown when that men’s hockey goal hit the back of the net, there was a frozen moment where you processed what happened, you grasped what it meant and reality hit you.
Penn State’s women’s hockey is a proud program that has scaled summits under coach Jeff Kampersal that no one could have imagined. But their loftiest goals are still out there.
It is always hard when a season ends, especially one where the ultimate goals are so close, and so near that you can almost grab them.
In the movie “Field of Dreams,” Kevin Costner’s character tracks down a doctor who was a former baseball player. That character, Archibald “Moonlight” Graham, was a career minor leaguer who got to play one half of an inning on the last day of the season. It was the only major league action he saw in his whole career.
“It was being this close to your dreams and then watching them brush past you like a stranger in a crowd. At the time you don’t think much of it. You know we don’t recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they’re happening. Back then I thought, well, there’ll be other days. I didn’t realize that was the only day.”
For Coach Kampersal and the players who return in the future, this program will have more days. The time will come when they hoist the final trophy.
But for this team and for this time…
In every contest only one team can emerge victorious. But there is also glory in the attempt, in fighting a worthy adversary and knowing that you made every effort and left everything you had on the ice. But the pain lingers; it always hurts some. It’s that way because in your heart, your bones, your soul you care so much. That’s a good thing.
For this team, these players, coaches and support staff, a big thank you. No matter the sport, those of us lucky to witness excellence and elite competition all come away inspired. We come away in awe of the effort, the preparation and the heart.
Thanks for a great season, a great postseason run and for sharing the passion you had for each other and for the sport you love. You’ve made everyone who’s ever loved Penn State so very proud.
And despite falling just a bit short…
Tessa Janecke broke free on a Nicole Hall pass then avoided a Badger defender chasing her down like her life depended on it. The backhand game-tying shot is a moment that will be etched in the memories of all who witnessed it forever. The efforts of all those players are an example to all looking for the very best in college sports.
It is up to us who can impact the future of college sports to ensure moments like this are made time and time again for what they create in sports and in life.
