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A Look Inside Division 3 Recruiting at Penn State Harrisburg

November 30, 2014

By Greg Williams
PA Director of Scouting

The time frame and speed at which the recruiting process takes place picks up in intensity every year. For Division 3 Penn State Harrisburg head coach Ryan Bown that simply means he has the opportunity to get the word out about his program to potential recruits that much sooner.

According to Bown, "We are looking for student-athletes who strive to excel in the classroom with a 3.0 GPA or higher.  We want players who are tough, work hard, and have a blue-collar type mentality on the field.  Penn State Harrisburg (PSH) stands for Pride, Spirit, and Honor and we are looking for players who can exemplify those words both on and off the field."

Bown feels strongly that the academic offerings at PSH are a great calling card for his program and gives him an advantage in recruiting quality student-athletes. "We are part of the Penn State system offering our players the opportunity to graduate with a Penn State degree joining the largest alumni association in the world. We have over 40 bachelor programs including Engineering, Criminal Justice and Education."

Bown also has a vision for the program's future success in the Capital Athletic Conference, in Bown's estimation one of the best D3 conferences in the nation. "Moving to the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) is a great challenge for us.  We brought in 18 new players this fall to help advance our program in the new conference.  Many of them are expected to be contributors and have a major impact this spring.  We are looking to add another 15 with this year's recruiting class.  Our goal is to contend for the CAC championship every year.  If we achieve that goal, then we will also be competing at a national level."

Bown, who doubles as the strength and conditioning coordinator for all Penn State Harrisburg athletic teams, places an emphasis on team strength conditioning. "We work extremely hard all year, but especially in the off-season from a strength and conditioning standpoint."

Bown, a notoriously tireless worker on the recruiting trail, enters his third season guiding the Lions. In his first season in 2013, Bown led a squad that combined to win 12 games and finished dead last in the standings the previous two years to the most successful season in program history.  The Lions won a school-record 26 games, including 16 in a row, en route to winning the team’s first-ever North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) championship.  The Blue & White also made the program’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.

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