UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Patrick Kraft announced the selection of Rob Dow as men’s soccer head coach. Dow, who owns the nation’s ninth-best win percentage among active men’s soccer coaches with at least five seasons leading a team, comes to Happy Valley after serving as the head coach at Vermont for the last nine years.
“We are excited to welcome Rob Dow as the new head coach of Penn State men’s soccer,” said Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Pat Kraft. “Rob brings a proven record of success and a clear vision for the future of our program. His commitment to developing student-athletes and fostering a culture of excellence aligns perfectly with Penn State’s values. We look forward to the impact he will make on and off the field.”
“I am extremely honored to become the 13th head men’s soccer coach at Penn State University,” said Dow. “I would like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Patrick Kraft, Adam Miller, and the rest of the search committee for their faith in me to lead the next generation of Nittany Lions. I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to not only honor the program’s rich history, but to be a part of an athletic department that is focused on developing world class student-athletes on and off the field while pursuing success at the highest levels. I am excited to get to work writing the next chapter of PSU men’s soccer by getting back to chasing Big Ten titles and national championships.”
As the head coach of the Catamounts, Dow boasted a 129-41-21 record and has taken the team to five consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including leading Vermont to a National Championship in the 2024 season. In his nine seasons, he has coached 55 all-conference honorees and seven major conference award winners.
Dow and his staff were recognized as back-to-back America East Coaching Staff of the Year in 2024 and 2025. He is the first and only America East head coach to win a national title, and to earn the No. 1 overall seed in an NCAA Tournament.
In 2025, Vermont finished the regular season without a loss, compiling a 12-0-5 overall record before entering the postseason. The Catamounts’ 6-0-1 conference mark netted the program the top seed in the conference tournament and a first-round bye. The team posted back-to-back wins to claim the conference title before earning the top seed on Selection Sunday. In the 2025 season alone, he posted a program-record 13 all-conference honors under his watch.
The 2024 run began with a 9-2-5 regular season record and a 4-1-2 mark in America East play. As a two-seed in the conference tournament, his team won back-to-back games to take its first conference title since the 2021 season, earning the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The team was left unseeded in the tournament bracket, but posted wins over No. 7 Hofstra, No. 3 Denver, and No. 2 Pittsburgh en route to the national championship. There, the Catamounts would go on to win a 2-1 decision in overtime against No. 13 Marshall to claim the College Cup.
In the previous seven seasons, Dow tallied a combined 33-11-5 conference record, winning a conference tournament title and making an appearance in the America East Conference Tournament each year.
Prior to assuming the head role, Dow served as an assistant coach for the Catamounts beginning with the 2012 season before being promoted to associate head coach in 2015.
Dow arrived at Vermont after spending four years at Southern New Hampshire University. He spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the Penmen men's soccer program and was elevated to associate head coach during the 2010 season. During his four-year stint at SNHU, the Penmen posted a 59-14-13 record. Southern New Hampshire earned NCAA Tournament berths each year, including NCAA Quarterfinal trips in 2009 and 2011. The Penmen also captured two Northeast-10 regular-season titles and an NE-10 Tournament title.
Prior to his arrival at SNHU, Dow spent two seasons as head men's soccer coach at Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts. While at Dean, Dow compiled an 18-11-4 record, qualified for the NJCAA Region 21 playoffs in 2007, and coached seven NJCAA All-Region players. Prior to that, Dow spent two seasons as the men's and women's assistant coach at Mayville State University and a season as an assistant for the men's team at his alma mater, the University of Maine.
Dow is a 2003 graduate from Maine, where he was a three-year member of the soccer team. He twice led the Black Bears in scoring and earned America East Scholar-Athlete recognition in three seasons. Dow later earned his master's in sport and recreation management from North Dakota State University in 2005.
He played professionally with the Ottawa Wizards and then the New Hampshire Phantoms.