Kalani Sitake Says Penn State 'Got the Right Guy' in Matt Campbell

Penn State made a strong pitch to the BYU coach last December before hiring Campbell.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Matt Campbell answers questions from the media following the Blue-White Spring game at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

In December, Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi and Athletic Director Pat Kraft stood proudly in the Beaver Stadium media room, explaining how they had landed Matt Campbell as their new head football coach. Kraft called the search process a "Netflix documentary," and Bendapudi recalled Campbell's pitch that moved her.

"Characte, culture, community, excellence. These are the words that Coach Campbell used to explain to me what he thinks success looks like," Bendapudi said. "I knew immediately we have the right person."

Had their first, very aggressive offer been accepted, though, Bendapudi and Kraft would have posed for photos that day with Kalani Sitake instead of Campbell. And evidently, they came very close.

In a new interview with On3's Pete Nakos, the BYU head coach said that Penn State made a determined pitch last December and gave him a short timeline to decide. Which grew shorter when Penn State's pursuit of Sitake became public.

"It got real quickly after people started to find out about it," Sitake said in the interview. "The decision-making process had to happen almost overnight. Looking at what Penn State was doing and what they were trying to offer, I had to decide what I wanted and what I considered compensation for me and what I was chasing."

BYU Cougars head coach Kalani Sitake celebrates after beating Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Pop-Tarts Bowl at Camping World Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

BYU ultimately made a "significant" offer to Sitake to stay, both in salary and player-compensation terms. And Penn State agreed to an eight-year, $70.5 million contract with Campbell.

"Honestly, there's nothing against Penn State," Sitake told On3. "They're a fine institution. They got the right guy in Matt Campbell. I have tons of respect for their fans and the people there. I just don't know much about the area and recruiting there.

"But I'm very confident in my abilities as a coach and a leader. When it came down to it. I had to decide what was more important."

Penn State's uneven athletics season

A general view of a Penn State University sign outside of Beaver Stadium following the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes. | Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

The last Penn State team was eliminated from the postseason Sunday, when the Nittany Lions men's lacrosse team lost to No. 1 Princeton in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. With that, an inconsistent Penn State athletics year largely ended (track athletes still have their NCAA Championships).

Penn State's team records weren't great for the athletics season. According to Darian Somers, who runs the Stuff Somers Says blog, Nittany Lions teams finished with a combined winning percentage of .563, the athletic department's lowest since 2018-19. Penn State teams went 231-183-14.

The expectations were much higher, even in-house. Last fall, Penn State Athletic Director Pat Kraft suggested that as many as four Penn State teams could win national championships. One did: Penn State's wrestling team dominated college wrestling, finishing undefeated for the fifth consecutive year and claiming its fifth straight NCAA title. The Nittany Lions could be even better next season.

Penn State men's lacrosse loses to Princeton 14-10 in the NCAA Tournament, ending the team sport school year for Penn State.

From a win-loss percentage standpoint, it was the worst for PSU athletics since 2018-19. I'll have some more data on the blog exploring this. pic.twitter.com/7DBA73nDNw

— Darian Somers (@StuffSomersSays) May 17, 2026

And while multiple teams reached their NCAA Tournaments, the disappointments overshadowed. Penn State football went from No. 2 to unranked in three weeks. The men's hockey team, a preseason title favorite, struggled with injuries and lost in the NCAA first round. The men and women's basketball teams combined to win seven Big Ten games.

Still, Penn State ranked fifth nationally in the Learfield Directors' Cup's winter standings, with the spring results to come.

A baseball record

The new Penn State home run king!!!!!@Michael_A110's 20th of the year!!!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/puRWBtRa0S

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) May 14, 2026

Penn State baseball was among those teams that struggled, finishing its season at 16-25 overrall and 9-21 in the Big Ten. However, there was a record.

Michael Anderson became the first Penn State baseball player to hit 20 home runs in a season, reaching the milestone in a 13-3 win over Maryland on May 14. Anderson finished second in the conference in home runs and tied for ninth in RBI (53).

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