UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State has announced the appointment of Cory Chapman as assistant athletic director and general manager of Beaver Stadium and Pegula Ice Arena.
Chapman will work closely with Associate Athletic Director Mark Bodenschatz in overseeing all aspects of Beaver Stadium and Pegula Ice Arena. His primary duties will include programming, maintenance, budgets, customer service and managing staff for the two facilities.
From LaCrosse, Wisconsin, Chapman comes to Penn State after serving the past six years in facility operations and event management at the University of Minnesota. He begins his duties at Penn State today.
“I am elated to welcome Cory to Penn State!” said Bodenschatz, who is associate AD, facility and event operations management. “Cory is an energetic rising star with passion for event and facility management. He brings the right balance of experience, drive and intuition. His career accomplishments are impressive and I know his impact for Penn State Athletics will be strong and immediate.”
"I want to thank Mark Bodenschatz and (Associate AD) Tom McGrath for having the confidence in me to lead these fantastic venues into the future,” Chapman said. “I am honored to join the Penn State family and look forward to contributing to a world-class institution and an athletics department that is truly unrivaled. My family and I are eager to join the State College community."
Chapman brings nearly 15 years of facility management and programming experience to Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. He joined the Minnesota staff in 2009 and has spent the past two years as senior director for indoor arenas, with oversight of six facilities, including Williams Arena, Mariucci Arena and the Sports Pavilion. Chapman was the operations manager of the new TCF Bank Stadium during its inaugural season in 2009 and then spent three years as the director of operations for Williams Arena and the Sports Pavilion.
Chapman began his facility management career at Simpson College in Iowa, serving as the event operations/facility manager for seven years. He also served as Simpson’s head women’s soccer coach for five seasons, winning the 2006 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship and earning Coach of the Year honors that year.
A four-year collegiate soccer letterwinner, Chapman also was an Event Operations Assistant with the Arena Football League’s Iowa Barnstormers in 2009 before moving to Minnesota.
Chapman graduated from Viterbo University with a degree in liberal studies and he earned a master's degree in health and human studies from Fort Hays State University. He played soccer as a junior and senior at Viterbo. Chapman earned second-team All-America honors as a freshman at Bethany Lutheran (Minnesota) College.
Chapman and his wife, Lynn, have two daughters, Maria and Casey, and an infant son, Charlie.