Karen Weaver, Director of Athletics

Dr. Karen Weaver is the Director of Athletics, Intramurals and Recreation. She began this position, her third directorship, as the first full time athletics director in school history in 2006. She oversees a thirteen sport varsity program of 175 student athletes  as well as oversees a campus recreation and intramural program that meets the needs of 3200 full time students.

Prior to her arrival at Penn State, she provided department wide leadership as an Associate Athletics Director at the University of Minnesota, a program that supports 750 student athletes, 25 varsity sports and 215 full time employees. A member of the senior management team, Weaver was responsible for all personnel matters in the department, chairing or serving on numerous search committees. For several years she was the Chief Financial Officer, overseeing an $11.8 million budget, and managing the day to day finances of the department. She also oversaw six sports, four of which were Big Ten Conference Champions. She has also been an athletics director at two other institutions.

Dr. Weaver spent 16 years as a collegiate head field hockey coach, with 10 of those years as a coach in NCAA Division I. Her teams made 5 post season appearances and won an NCAA National Championship while going undefeated, the first team to do so. She has also been involved as a top national and international coach, and twice was a member of the Board of Directors of the United States Field Hockey Association. She served as the broadcast announcer and assistant producer for men's and women's field hockey at the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. She is currently working with the Big Ten Network as a color analyst.

Her doctoral degree in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania included achieving distinction in the oral defense. Her dissertation entitled "The Launch of the Big Ten Network: How 11 Universities Created Their Own Television Network and Changed the Landscape of College Sports" is currently being considered for publication. Dr. Weaver received her bachelor's degree from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania and her master's degree from Purdue University in Indiana. She is a graduate of the Sports Management Institute, a partnership between the athletics department and the business schools at the University of Michigan and the University of Texas.

Dr. Weaver was named an All-American in field hockey at Lock Haven and was a member of the US National Squad that qualified but did not compete in the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.

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Julie McNulty, Athletic Trainer

Julie returns to Pennsylvania after working seven years as the Head Athletic Trainer at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Julie earned her Bachelors of Health Science in Athletic Training from Lock Haven University in Lock Haven, PA and her Masters of Science in Athletic Training from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She was also a graduate assistant athletic trainer where she worked through Northwest Georgia Sports Medicine clinic and was outreached to Dalton High School in Dalton, GA. Julie currently resides in Levittown, PA.

Cathy Kniele, Staff Assistant

Cathy Kniele, Staff Assistant in the Athletics Office has been employed here for 17 years. She supports the athletics director and the coaching staff through administrative work. She enjoys being a part of the athletic team and enjoys the campus atmosphere here at Penn State Abington. Cathy and her husband Bob enjoy long walks on the beach and hanging out with the family. They reside in Harleysville, PA.