Penn State launches another new head coaching search, days after Matt Campbell hire

Just days after Penn State finally brought an end to their nearly two-month search for a new head football coach following James Franklin’s October firing by hiring Iowa State’s Matt Campbell, the university has launched another new head coaching search.

Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Pat Kraft confirmed Thursday that Penn State Field Hockey head coach Lisa Bervinchak Love will not have her contract renewed following the 2025 season.

Kraft made the following remarks in a Penn State University release.

“We are so grateful to Lisa for her many years of dedication to Penn State field hockey and the impact she has had on countless student-athletes. After careful evaluation, we decided to make a change in leadership as we look to the future of the program. We thank Lisa for her commitment to our university and wish her the very best in her next chapter.”

Lisa Bervinchak Love out as Penn State head coach

Bervinchak Love, a 1989 Penn State graduate, was named head coach of the team ahead of the 2023 season following the retirement of longtime head coach Char Morett-Curtiss. She had been an assistant coach on Morett-Curtiss’ staff dating back to 1994, so this week's announcement brings an end to her 32-year run with the program.

During her three years as head coach, the team made one appearance in the Big Ten Tournament (2023) and finished with a 24-28 overall record (8-16 in regular season Big Ten play).

During her 32 years with the program, the team made a total of 30 Big Ten Tournament appearances, winning 34 games in the conference tournament and seven tournament championships. They also won seven regular season Big Ten championships, including three outright.

They made 23 NCAA Tournament appearances over that stretch, including three that resulted in national semifinals appearances and two that resulted in trips to the national championship game.

According to the release, the program also “amassed 27 Big Ten major award winners, 32 NFHCA first-team All-Americans, 31 NFHCA second-team All-Americans, 73 first-team All-Big Ten selections, had more than 300 Academic All-Big Ten selections and nearly 300 NFHCA National All-Academic honorees” from 1994 to 2025.

Penn State says that a national search for the new field hockey head coach "will begin immediately”.

Penn State Field Hockey: Looking ahead

The team's 2025 season came to an end on Halloween evening, just shy of the Big Ten Tournament for the second consecutive season, despite a valiant comeback effort against Rutgers after falling down 3-0 in the first quarter. The Nittany Lions finished the season 7-10 overall and 2-6 in the Big Ten, good for eighth place in the nine-team conference.

But to say that there were many positives to take away from the team’s 2025 campaign would be a massive understatement, even after they missed out on postseason play for just the second time since the Big Ten Tournament was implemented in 1994.

The Nittany Lions defeated 2024 national runners-up Saint Joseph’s in an early-season overtime thriller, and they managed to shut out Iowa, which boasted the Big Ten’s best offense at the time, in an equally exciting late-season double-overtime thriller, limiting the nation's top goalscorer to just one shot on goal in eight attempts, despite missing one of their own top defenders and team captains for the 75-minute nailbiter.

An overtime win over Delaware meant they beat a total of three qualifiers from the 2024 and/or 2025 NCAA Tournaments, and it was very nearly four; they led on the road at Syracuse, then ranked No. 6 in the country, with just over one minute to play.

They were also the final remaining Big Ten team unbeaten at home, winning their first six games in State College to start the season. That win streak at Char Morett-Curtiss Field meant they impressively found themselves ahead of reigning (and now two-time reigning) national champions Northwestern in that particular category.

Of course, there are still plenty of things to improve upon as well. Their first home loss of the year came in their penultimate home game of the regular season against Indiana, and it unfortunately marked their first Big Ten home loss in a game they had led at any point since 2015. A victory in that game would have sent them to the Big Ten Tournament for the first time in two years.

Their season-ending loss to Rutgers also came at home, and it marked nine consecutive losses – and eight in a row in Big Ten play going back to 2024 – when allowing at least one goal. And despite the late comeback attempt in that game, Penn State did not win a single game in which they fell behind during the 2025 season.

But with yet another loaded incoming freshman class to go along with this past year’s talented group of newcomers, which made their presence felt early and often throughout the season, there is certainly a lot of optimism surrounding this team.

First, however, the program must successfully navigate the inevitable challenges which come with the head coaching search that now lies ahead.