Former lacrosse and field hockey coach, four-time national champion seeks to inspire graduates as they prepare for their journey ahead.
Over the last four years, the members of the Class of 2025 have been practicing their skills, expanding their knowledge, and taking advantage of new learning opportunities as they prepare for the game of life that lies ahead. Looking to inspire our new graduates in the next phase of their journeys will be an elite college coach and Hall of Famer who realized her own dreams as a student-athlete and coach at Gettysburg College.
“On behalf of our entire Gettysburg College community, I am delighted to announce Coach Carol Cantele ’83, P’15 as this year’s Commencement speaker,” said President Bob Iuliano. “Coach Cantele has been a pillar of service and leadership on our campus for more than three decades, and her impact extends far beyond Clark Field.
“In so many ways, she has helped shape the lives and careers of countless Gettysburgians through her wisdom, dedication, and kindness. We are deeply honored that Coach Cantele will address this remarkable Class of 2025. I know her words will inspire our graduates as they embark on the next great chapter of their lives.”
Cantele is one of the most decorated coaches in the history of college lacrosse and was recently named to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame this past January. She is also a member of the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Hall of Fame and the Gettysburg College Hall of Athletic Honor. She retired from coaching in 2022 after leading Gettysburg to 446 victories, 13 Centennial Conference titles, and three NCAA Division III championships over three decades.
"I am humbled and thrilled to be named the commencement speaker for Gettysburg College’s Class of 2025,” Cantele said. “As an alumna and a coach for the past 30 years at Gettysburg College in both field hockey and lacrosse, it’s truly a full-circle moment for me to return to the place that helped shape who I am today.”
A health and physical education major from Wallingford, Pennsylvania, Cantele helped Gettysburg rise among the national elite in her early days as a student-athlete. In 1980, she was a key contributor to the school’s first-ever team national championship as Gettysburg took home the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) field hockey crown. The following spring, she helped the lacrosse team earn its first national playoff appearance.
Not long after graduating from Gettysburg, Cantele began her decorated coaching career as a graduate assistant at Miami (Ohio) University where she attained a master’s in physical education. She followed with her first head coaching stint in lacrosse and field hockey at Plymouth State University, leading the lacrosse team to 24 wins in her four years.
Cantele arrived in Gettysburg in the fall of 1992, taking over for her former mentor and Gettysburg Hall of Honor inductee Lois Bowers. In short order, the Bullets became a national contender in both field hockey and lacrosse. In 10 seasons at the helm of the field hockey program, Cantele guided the Bullets to 121 wins and five conference titles.
In 2002, Cantele stepped down as field hockey coach to focus on women’s lacrosse and her new role as senior woman administrator. The lacrosse team won its first Centennial title in 2000 and ran off five consecutive titles from 2002-2006, culminating in the program’s first appearance in the national title game in 2006.
Over the final 22 years of Cantele’s coaching career, the Bullets made the NCAA playoffs in all but two pandemic-shortened campaigns. Highlighting that magical run were the institution’s first three NCAA team championships in 2011, 2017, and 2018.
Cantele has been the recipient of nearly every major coaching award in collegiate lacrosse, including four nods as national coach of the year and 10 selections as regional coach of the year. She was also the recipient of the Judith M. Sweet Commitment Award in 2009 and the Diane Geppi-Aikens Memorial Award in 2016, the former recognizing her commitment to leadership and the latter honoring her outstanding years of service to the women’s college game.
Through all the championships and honors, Cantele has remained grounded by her family and her student-athletes. Her mentorship and guidance steered student-athletes to All-America certificates and national player awards, but it also provided them the encouragement and confidence to pursue a wide range of experiences at Gettysburg College before becoming business executives, doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and coaches like herself.
"I've always encouraged my student-athletes to 'step outside of your comfort zone,' because that's where growth and magic happen. It's what makes life exciting,” Cantele said. “By accepting the invitation to be this year's commencement speaker, I suppose I’m taking my own advice. I’m so proud to have the opportunity to address this remarkable class and celebrate their accomplishments as they take the next step in their journeys."
Commencement Exercises will take place rain or shine on Saturday, May 17, beginning at 11 a.m. on the Beachem Portico on the north side of Pennsylvania Hall. For more information about Commencement for the Class of 2025, please visit the Commencement website.
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By Corey Jewart
Photos by David Sinclair, Sidney Keiser, Lee Weissman
Posted: 03/24/25