UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; July 27, 2006 - Penn State has named Brad Pantall to the newly developed position of Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the men's and women's basketball programs. Pantall, a former Nittany Lion football player and veteran of a decade working in Penn State's athletic strength and conditioning program, will be specifically in charge of the physical development, need assessment and year-around, sport specific training of Penn State's men and women's basketball players.

"I am very excited for the opportunity to work solely with the men's and women's basketball teams and to contribute to each program's success by focusing solely on the physical development of their individual student-athletes," Pantall said.

Pantall, who has worked as a strength and conditioning coach at Penn State since 1996, will be charged with implementing and overseeing a program that will develop power, speed, agility and flexibility in the men's and women's basketball student-athletes. While Penn State has long maintained a strength and conditioning program for the basketball programs, this will mark the first season in which one person has been charged solely with developing and overseeing that program.

A 1996 graduate of Penn State with a degree in Sports Science, Pantall was a member of the Nittany Lion football team from 1992-96 and is a native of State College. He earned a master's degree from Penn State in Counseling and Education in 1999 and began work as a graduate assistant coach under Penn State head football strength and conditioning coach John Thomas from 1996-98. From 1999-2005, Pantall worked as a strength and conditioning coach at Penn State spending time with each of the departments 29 teams. He is certified as a USA weightlifting coach and is a member of the National Association of Speed and Explosion for which he serves as the state director overseeing camps, clinics and certifications in Pennsylvania. He has also worked with the strength and conditioning programs of the NFL's Washington Redskins and Cincinnati Bengals.