Wearing a blue and white scarf around his neck, new Penn State men’s soccer head coach Rob Dow held his introductory press conference Thursday via Zoom.

After a nine-year career as head coach at Vermont, Dow was hired last week as the 13th head coach in Penn State’s program history.

Ranging from his coaching and recruiting philosophies, fan support, and even ice cream, here’s what Dow discussed during his first press conference in the blue and white.

On The Move To Penn State

Dow has spent the last 14 years in Burlington, Vermont, and the last nine as head coach of the Catamounts, going 109-41-21, making five consecutive NCAA Tournaments, and winning the 2024 national title.

However, it was time for a change.

Over the last couple of years, Dow has seen Penn State as a potential landing place, and he was instantly excited when the job opened following the departure of Jeff Cook after eight seasons. Dow did as much as he could to get his name and resume in front of Pat Kraft and the search committee.

Why now, though? While he gave his flowers to Vermont, Dow understood he was at a point in his career to take the leap.

“Certainly grateful to have the 14 years here in Vermont. It was a difficult decision to leave. I poured my heart and soul to that program. I built a community around the team I became very close with and had to say goodbye to, but I wanted to know what else was out there,” Dow said.

“I just saw Penn State as a sleeping giant. And now learning Pat’s commitment to soccer, and the infrastructure that’s being built is amazing. I had to be ready, and the timing worked out well, I think, with the success in my career, and I was ready to pounce.”

On His Coaching Philosophies

In his opening statement, Dow discussed his past as a head coach and how he’ll translate that to Penn State.

While the Nittany Lions have finished at the bottom of the Big Ten in two consecutive years, including a 1-6-3 conference record this past season, Dow is sure he can turn that around through a newfound pride for the name on the front of the kit.

“You will see our players play for this team in a way that they have never played for another team before, with passion and energy and excitement,” he said.

While it seems ambitious, Dow’s brought that passion out of players before, and his past has built his belief in that ability.

“It’s in my history as a coach that our teams will be the toughest to play against in the country, the most connected as a family, and display that the little championship habits are the ones that make the big accomplishments and raising the important trophies above your head,” Dow said.

The 44-year-old raised the most important trophy of them all above his head on December 16, 2024, when his Catamounts beat Marshall 2-1 in overtime of the national championship, but as he mentioned multiple times, the small championship habits got them there.

What won’t change from Burlington to State College is Dow’s knack for being the hardest working team that covers the most grass and the players he recruits having the “intangible qualities, character, leadership, resiliency,” and having a team-first mindset.

On His Recruiting Philosophies

Simply put, Dow wants players with a team-first mindset. Where he’ll go to find them was an even simpler answer.

“Let’s get the best players in state,” he said. “We’ll be present on every soccer field in Pennsylvania.”

According to Dow, the best in Pennsylvania will stay in Pennsylvania, and there should be no other choice for them, saying Penn State “just means more to them,” but it won’t end there.

Dow will make phone calls around the world, and the first three numbers, 814, as Dow recently found out, will intrigue players to answer the ring.

“They’re going to pick up because it’s Penn State, the Big Ten, it’s big time, right?”

At Vermont, Dow recruited players from across the globe and has built relationships with folks from many different places, which he said will translate to getting players to join him at Penn State.

“The people that we know who have sent players to our coaching staff have loved the experience. It’s been a lifelong experience with brotherhoods that they’ve formed for life, and that’s what you want,” Dow said. “Money aside, scholarship aside, facilities aside, it’s about the lifelong connections you make, and that’s not going to be any different. As soon as we start getting going here, we’re going to start building those relationships.”

Dow also said he already met with the current Penn State team on Zoom, as well as called each player individually, learning about them more as people than as players.

“I have a lot more to learn and those relationships start with me opening up, me being myself, and building trust. I want the players at Penn State to feel that immediately, that there’s someone here that’s got their back that wants to know them not only from a transactional relationship, what you can do on the field, but from a quality of life, and that they’re going to grow as human beings and develop the skill sets to be successful at anything that they’re faced with,” Dow said.

On Fan Support

Dow’s former home pitch at Vermont, Virtue Field, consistently saw sold-out crowds of 2,600 fans.

“[We were] so proud to play in front of every home game being sold out at Virtue Field, and we’re going to experience that at Jeffrey Field. It’s going to be electric, and I’m going to feed off of it,” he said.”

Whether it’s donors on the sideline or kids in the community, Dow and his staff will provide access for Penn State to be the face of Pennsylvania soccer.

“Come see the team,” Dow said.

On Ice Cream

The heavy hitter.

Ben & Jerry’s was founded in Burlington, Vermont, and its factory is located less than 30 minutes away from the University of Vermont.

So, I had to ask for Dow’s opinion: Ben & Jerry’s or The Berkey Creamery?

“That came up when I went to Penn State. I don’t know enough information about the Creamery. I blame the search committee not stopping and getting me ice cream along the way, so I can’t make that judgment. Next time we meet, I’ll make sure that I have that decision,” Dow said.