UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men’s rugby has hired Zac Mizell as its head coach.
Mizell comes to Penn State after serving as the men’s rugby head coach at Adrian College in 2023-24, where he was the Midwest Rugby Conference Coach of the Year. He also currently serves as head coach of the men’s elite team at the Ohio Aviators Rugby Academy.
Before his time at Adrian, Mizell served as a rugby performance consultant for Arkansas State rugby in 2021-22 and also coached at Life University in Georgia (2019-21) guiding the team as assistant head coach to the Collegiate Rugby 7’s Championship match in 2021.
His coaching career also includes roles as director of rugby and head coach for University of Texas Men’s Rugby (2017-19) and as U23 assistant coach at Austin Elite Rugby of Major League Rugby (2018).
Mizell’s playing career includes professional stints in Major League Rugby, Professional Rugby Organization North America and USA Rugby from 2012-20. He was a member of the USA Select XV (2012) and USA Rugby Sevens team (2013).
Mizell began his collegiate rugby career at Arkansas State, where he was a two-time USA Rugby Collegiate All-American (2012-13) and MVP of the 2012 USA Rugby Division I Collegiate 7’s National Championship.
Mizell holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Life University, where he was also a USA Rugby Division I Men’s Club National Champion.