(File Photo: Source for Photo: Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell looks to the scoreboard during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Kansas, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. Iowa State won 38-14. (AP Photo/Matthew Putney)

(AP) Matt Campbell was hired as Penn State’s coach on Friday night, ending a two-month search by the Nittany Lions to find James Franklin’s successor.

The 46-year-old Campbell heads to Happy Valley after going 72-55 in 10 seasons at Iowa State to become the winningest coach in the history of that program.

Terms of Campbell’s contract were not released, pending approval by a committee of the school’s Board of Trustees. That committee is scheduled to meet on Monday, after which Campbell will be introduced.

“Coach Campbell is, without a doubt, the right leader at the right time for Penn State football,” athletic director Pat Kraft said in a statement. “He is a stellar coach with a proven track record of success and his values, character and approach to leading student-athletes to success on and off the field align perfectly with the traditions and values of Penn State.”

Penn State advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinals last season and began this season ranked No. 2 in the AP poll, but Franklin was fired on Oct. 12 after the Nittany Lions started 0-3 in Big Ten play.

Before Campbell’s arrival at Iowa State in 2016, the Cyclones had a record of 489-622-45 with just three bowl wins in their 133-year history. His 10-year tenure in Ames included eight winning seasons, three bowl wins and the program’s only 11-win campaign last year, when Iowa State reached the Big 12 championship game.

Iowa State went 8-4 this season and awaits a bowl bid. Washington State coach Jimmy Rogers was named as Campbell’s replacement on Friday.

Campbell spent five years as Toledo’s coach before joining the Cyclones and is 107-70 overall. He signed a contract extension at Iowa State in August worth $5 million per year until 2032, with a buyout of $2 million.

An Ohio native, Campbell becomes Penn State’s 17th full-time coach. He takes over a program that missed big during the early signing period that began on Wednesday.

Penn State, the second Power Four program to fire its coach this season, signed only two players toward its 2026 recruiting class this week. The Nittany Lions have no commitments in the 2027 class.

Many of those who had previously committed to Penn State flipped to Virginia Tech, where Franklin was hired last month. In addition to last year’s CFP run, Franklin won a Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl during his 11-plus seasons in Happy Valley.

Franklin, however, struggled to win big games, going 4-21 against teams ranked in the top 10.

Now, current Nittany Lions players will have to decide whether to stick around and play for Campbell, who’s done a lot with a little in Ames while reportedly passing on other job offers, including overtures from the NFL.

Numerous names were linked to the Penn State opening, and some potential candidates signed extensions at their current schools, including BYU’s Kalani Sitake.

Penn State went 3-3 this season under interim coach Terry Smith, winning its final three games to finish 6-6 and become bowl eligible.

As Kraft conducted his search without the aid of a search committee, a large contingent of players campaigned for the blunt-talking Smith to be named the permanent coach.

After the Nittany Lions’ win over Nebraska on Nov. 22, players held up “HIRE TERRY SMITH!” signs on the sidelines. A handful flashed the signs to Kraft, who walked off the field with an arm around Smith, a Penn State alum who played for Joe Paterno and is a veteran of Franklin’s staff.

Campbell already has one staff member in place. Kraft confirmed on Friday that Smith is sticking with the program.

“I want to express my deepest gratitude to coach Terry Smith for stepping up when we needed him the most and for rallying our team to finish this season with three straight wins,” Kraft said. “Coach Smith bleeds blue and white and pours his entire heart and soul into Penn State football. I’m deeply grateful for his commitment to our university, and I am excited that he will continue to be a part of this program.”

A fan base and athletic department accustomed to seeing the same coach roaming the Penn State sideline for 46 years as Paterno did has never gone this long without a gridiron leader.

The search to find Paterno’s permanent successor during the most tumultuous season in program history took 40 days in 2011. Paterno was fired on Nov. 9 of that year, shortly after the arrest of his longtime assistant Jerry Sandusky on child sexual abuse charges. Then-acting athletic director Dave Joyner announced a six-person search committee on Nov. 28, and the program introduced Bill O’Brien on Jan. 7.

Two years later, O’Brien informed Penn State that he was taking the Houston Texans job, and Penn State introduced Franklin nine days later.

(File Photo of Western Beaver’s Football Stadium (Rich Niedbala Field) in Industry)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Midland, PA) Former Western Beaver High School quarterback Jaivin Peel has now transferred from the Kiski School in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania and went back to Lincoln Park during his junior year. Peel transferred to Lincoln Park for the second time because the first time he did that was back on July 23rd, 2024 after he was enrolled at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh. Lincoln Park athletic director Mike Bariski confirms that Peel re-enrolled at the charter school based in Midland during the middle of the 2025 high school football season. Bariski also noted that Peel is making plans to play football for Western Beaver in 2026 during his senior season. This Monday, December 8th, will be when the WPIAL Board of Directors will hold an eligibility hearing for Peel, who has a postseason eligibility restriction for football which he can appeal. Peel owns the WPIAL single-season record for most passing yards by a freshman when he threw for 2,898 yards in 2023. Peel will join a Western Beaver High School football team in 2026 that is coming off of an incredible 2025 season, in which they finished with a 10-2 record and won the Midwestern conference championship outright for the first time since 2007. However, Steel Valley High School defeated Western Beaver 34-7 in the WPIAL 2A semifinal on November 14th, 2025 at Dormont Stadium in Dormont, Pennsylvania.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Johan Oviedo delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays Wednesday Aug. 20, 2025 in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox acquired right-hander Johan Oviedo from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night as part of a five-player trade.

Boston also got left-hander Tyler Samaniego and minor league catcher Adonys Guzman from Pittsburgh in exchange for outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia and minor league right-hander Jesus Travieso.

Oviedo, a 27-year-old from Cuba, had Tommy John surgery in December 2023 and missed the 2024 season. He returned last season and went 2-1 with a 3.57 ERA in nine starts.

In 2023, he made 32 starts and went 9-14 with a 4.31 ERA with 158 strikeouts in 177 2/3 innings for the Pirates and ranked eighth among National League starters with a .237 opponent batting average. Oviedo is 15-26 with a 4.24 ERA in 81 appearances, including 67 starts, for St. Louis and Pittsburgh.

Boston designated right-hander Cooper Criswell for assignment to make room on its 40-man roster.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, right, visits with Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett before an NCAA college football game between Pittsburgh and Notre Dame in Pittsburgh, Nov. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Brook Park, OH) According to a release yesterday, former University of Pittsburgh running back Tony Dorsett is one of nineteen people that will be inducted into the National High School Football Hall of Fame on July 11th, 2026, in Brook Park, Ohio, during a special ceremony. Dorsett is the only player in Pitt college football history to win the Heisman Trophy as the best college football player in the country when he won it in 1976. Dorsett also played football at Hopewell High School and he will be part of the fourth induction class for the National High School Football Hall of Fame. All nineteen inductees are as follows:

• Brian Bosworth – (LB) MacArthur High School
• Henry Butler – (HB) University School
• Channing Crowder – (LB) North Springs High School
• Randy Crowder /P – (DL) Farrell High School
• Tony Dorsett – (HB) Hopewell High School
• Charles Follis – (HB) Wooster High School
• Lou Groza /P – (OL) Martins Ferry High School
• John Heisman/P – (OL) Titusville High School
• Jim Kelly – (QB) East Brady High School
• Vince Marrow – (TE) Cardinal Mooney High School
• Terrence Metcalf – (OL) Clarksdale High School
• Ozzie Newsome – (TE) Colbert County High School
• Drew Pearson – (WR) South River High School
• Greg Pruitt – (HB) B.C. Elmore High School
• Sports Stars of Tomorrow – (Media)
• Andrew Stockey – (Media) / (HB) Simsbury High School
• Lee Tressel /P – (Head Coach) Mentor & Massillon High School
• Joe Vadini /P – (Head Coach) Brecksville High School
• Vince Young – (QB) Madison High School

(Photo Courtesy of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, Posted on Facebook on November 23rd, 2025)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) A championship rally will be held today to celebrate the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Soccer Club’s first ever United Soccer League title that was won by them at ONEOK Field in Tulsa, Oklahoma on November 22nd, 2025 by defeating Tulsa FC 5-3 in a penalty shootout after a 0-0 tie occurred when the game ended. From around 10:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. this afternoon, Grant Street in Downtown Pittsburgh will be closed between Fourth Avenue and Forbes Avenue for the celebration.

(Photo Courtesy of Getty Images and Focus on Sport, JANUARY 20: American professional football player L.C. Greenwood #68 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during Super Bowl XIV against the Los Angeles Rams at the Rose Bowl on January 20, 1980 in Pasadena, California. The Steelers defeated the Rams 31-19. (Photo by Focus On Sport/Getty Images)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) The late Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman L.C. Greenwood has now made it as one of three finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 in the seniors category after a recent round of voting from people from the museum located in Canton, Ohio. Greenwood was a four-time Super Bowl Champion who played all thirteen of his NFL seasons with the Steelers. Greenwood, along with both former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson and former running back for the Los Angeles Raiders, Minnesota Vikings and the San Francisco 49ers, Rodger Craig, received this honor. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft also became a Pro Football Hall of Fame 2026 finalist as a contributor and Bill Belichick, who was the head coach for both the Cleveland Browns and the New England Patriots before becoming the head coach for the University of North Carolina college football team in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, became a finalist for this class as a coach. These finalists would need approval from 80% of the selection committee from the Pro Football Hall of Fame to be inducted and no more than three of the five finalists can be chosen. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame: “If none of the five individuals receives 80% approval, then the individual who receives the most support would be elected to the Class of 2026.”

(File Photo of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Mechanicsburg, PA) The PIAA Radio Network will officially launch tomorrow on Thursday, December 4th. This is the first statewide audio network of its kind for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc., and it will cover all six of the PIAA Football Championship games starting tomorrow. It will feature play-by-play
announcers Bob McCool and Eric Thomas, along with color analysts Travis Sparks and
Cade Pribula, as well as producer James Dotson. You can listen for free through either the PIAA website or by streaming via YouTube. You can access the live streams by going to piaa.org and by clicking on “Listen Live,” or by going to youtube.com and search for the PIAA Radio Network’s channel. 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE = Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen warms up before an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Oct. 19, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt, File)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Adam Thielen didn’t stay out of work long.

The Pittsburgh Steelers signed the veteran wide receiver to their practice squad on Tuesday, a day after the 35-year-old was released by the Minnesota Vikings so he could pursue more playing time elsewhere.

Thielen had just eight catches for 69 yards in his return to Minnesota, where he starred from 2014-22 before a two-year stint with Carolina.

It might not take Thielen long to find his way onto the field in Pittsburgh. The Steelers (6-6) have struggled to do much in the pass game of late with neither Roman Wilson nor Calvin Austin III becoming consistent contributors alongside DK Metcalf.

Thielen is the second experienced wideout to join Pittsburgh’s practice squad in recent weeks. The Steelers signed Marquez Valdes-Scantling last month, though he has yet to find his way onto the 53-man roster on gamedays.

Pittsburgh also promoted Asante Samuel Jr. from the practice squad and released six-time Pro Bowler Darius Slay, who had been a healthy scratch in recent weeks.

Samuel made his first appearance with the Steelers in Sunday’s loss to Buffalo, finishing with three tackles in his return to action after undergoing neck surgery last spring. Tomlin saw enough of Slay to sign him to the active roster rather than risk someone poaching Slay from the practice squad late in the season.

“We certainly wanted to have an opportunity to see him in stadium before we maybe had to make a decision on him, before someone else forced our hand regarding decisions,” Tomlin said, later adding, “we liked some of the things we saw.”

Slay, signed to a one-year deal in March, had essentially been benched by Tomlin in favor of less experienced players, including James Pierre.

(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of the All AMERICAN+ Field House)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Monroeville, PA) According to a release from the All AMERICAN+ Field House in Monroeville yesterday, they announced that day that League One Volleyball, (LOVB) has signed a 10-year lease with the Monroeville-based complex, a long-term partnership designed to accelerate the growth of the sport in Western Pennsylvania and position Pittsburgh as a hotspot for volleyball. ALL AMERICAN+ Field House, which is already the largest sports and volleyball facility in the region of Pittsburgh, will expand to 13 in-house volleyball courts, which enables the venue to host multiple large-scale tournaments yearly and serve as a regional hub for elite training and competition with the agreement. 3DGE Volleyball, a new elite junior volleyball club, will operate the club program at ALL AMERICAN+ Field House under the LOVB umbrella, delivering leagues branded by LOVB and training pathways locally while aligning with the broader competition framework of LOVB under the agreement. LOVB also operates a league that is professional and this partnership will establish a roadmap for high-performance development in the region. Six new 3DGE-dedicated courts will be installed in November and will be ready ahead of the next club season. Programming that is near-term will prioritize junior girls’ club teams, camps and clinics, youth development programs and events, which focuses on divisions spanning elementary, middle and high school athletes, specific age divisions, dates, and registration details, which will be released with the tournament calendar. The presence of LOVB at ALL AMERICAN+ Field House will help centralize programming, elevate coaching standards, and expand opportunities for local and regional athletes to train and compete within a unified pathway as part of the lease and the facility plans to attract more major events, invite national competition to the region, and deepen the talent pipeline across Western Pennsylvania with thirteen dedicated courts.