Football | 8\/4\/2026 7:10:00 AM<\/p>\n
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TRAFFORD, Pa. – As the college football season rapidly approaches, the 2026 Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Football Media Day is scheduled for Tuesday, August 4th in Latrobe, Pa.<\/p>\n
For the 19th consecutive year, Saint Vincent College will host the league’s media day. The event serves as the PAC’s kickoff to the upcoming football season, with player representatives and head coaches from each of the conference’s 12 programs speaking to the media and attendees and previewing the upcoming season. The PAC Sports Network will stream\u00a0PAC Football Media Day<\/a>\u00a0live from Latrobe.<\/p>\n Media Day will begin at approximately 2:15 with a brief welcome by PAC Commissioner\u00a0Joe Onderko. That will be\u00a0followed by\u00a0Ed Mailliard\u00a0being recognized as the 2026 recipient of the Dow Carnahan Media Award.<\/p>\n Carnahan, a longtime supporter and friend of the PAC, passed away unexpectedly on April 29, 2016. The award is presented annually to a distinguished member or members of the media or on-campus representative for their commendable service while covering and promoting the conference’s student-athletes, coaches, and programs.<\/p>\n This year’s Carnahan Award recipient is Ed Mailliard, who has been affiliated with Allegheny College and Gator athletics for more than 50 years.\u00a0He’s covered the Gators during both halves of their membership in the\u00a0PAC, and provides an invaluable service as Allegheny’s primary sports photographer, as well as covering on-campus events for the College’s Marketing and Communications office. His name appears in the student newspaper as far back as 1973 and the first-ever NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships program from 1975, and Mailliard still shoots for the Gators today.<\/p>\n A Meadville native, Mailliard served as Allegheny’s sports information director and sports editor for\u00a0The Campus, the college newspaper, in the early 70’s. He would also go on to serve as a former sports writer, chief photographer and editor at\u00a0The Meadville Tribune\u00a0from 1972-2013. Away from the Allegheny campus, Mailliard started shooting for Topps in 1981, with his photographs appearing on more than 15,000 football and baseball cards and he was inducted in Major League Baseball’s Cactus League Hall of Fame in 2015.<\/p>\n In addition to the MLB honor, Mailliard adds the Carnahan Award to many other recognitions, which includes induction into the Allegheny Hall of Fame this October with the\u00a0Victor “Vic” Kress ’60 Meritorious Service Award. Inducted in the Edinboro Hall of Fame with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019, Mailliard was also the\u00a0recipient\u00a0of Allegheny’s Friend of the Program Award in 2012 and\u00a0Norm Sundstrom Friend of Athletics Award in 2016.<\/p>\n Media members in attendance, along with each institution’s head coach and sports information director (SID), will participate in a preseason poll to determine the projected conference finish for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n Expected 2026 PAC Football Media Day representatives (listed in order schools will speak at Media Day): Bethany College Saint Vincent College Thiel College Hiram College Allegheny College Case Western Reserve University Waynesburg University Geneva College Westminster College Grove City College Washington & Jefferson College
\nSaint Francis University
\nCoach: Head Coach\u00a0Chris Villarrial<\/a>\u00a0(17th season)
\nPlayer: Junior defensive back\u00a0Campbell Melzer<\/a>\u00a0(Wexford, Pa.\/North Allegheny)<\/p>\n
\nCoach: Head Coach\u00a0David Blake\u00a0(1st season)
\nPlayer: Junior quarterback\u00a0Brett Phillips\u00a0(Wheeling, W.Va.\/Wheeling Park)<\/p>\n
\nCoach: Head Coach\u00a0Casey Goff\u00a0(2nd season)
\nPlayer: Senior wide receiver\u00a0Chris Downs\u00a0(Gambrills, Md.\/Arundel)<\/p>\n
\nCoach: Head Coach\u00a0Sam Bauman\u00a0(5th season)
\nPlayer: Junior punter\u00a0Spencer Cleary\u00a0(Geelong, Australia\/Greenville-Pa.)<\/p>\n
\nCoach: Head Coach\u00a0Xavier Dupree\u00a0(2nd season)
\nPlayer: Senior offensive lineman\u00a0Talon Frick\u00a0(Edinboro, Pa.\/General McLane)<\/p>\n
\nCoach: Head Coach\u00a0Braden Layer\u00a0(4th season)
\nPlayer: Senior wide receiver\u00a0Curtis Knobeloch\u00a0(Pittsburgh, Pa.\/North Hills)<\/p>\n
\nCoach: Head Coach\u00a0Greg Debeljak\u00a0(23rd season)
\nPlayer: Junior defensive back\u00a0Jake Kavcic\u00a0(Kirtland, Ohio\/Gilmour Academy)<\/p>\n
\nCoach: Head Coach\u00a0Larry Wilson\u00a0(1st season)
\nPlayer: Graduate student offensive lineman\u00a0Kory Ansell\u00a0(Mt. Pleasant, Pa.\/Southmoreland)<\/p>\n
\nCoach: Head Coach\u00a0Tom Contenta\u00a0(1st season)
\nPlayer: Senior defensive lineman\u00a0Coltin Hill\u00a0(New Castle, Pa.\/Laurel)<\/p>\n
\nCoach: Interim Head Coach\u00a0EJ White\u00a0(1st season)
\nPlayer: Senior offensive lineman\u00a0Braden Mika\u00a0(Vandergrift, Pa.\/Kiski)<\/p>\n
\nCoach: Head Coach\u00a0Andrew DiDonato\u00a0(10th season)
\nPlayer: Graduate student safety\/linebacker\u00a0Ryan Montgomery\u00a0(Harrisville, Pa.\/Slippery Rock)<\/p>\n
\nCoach: Head Coach\u00a0Mike Sirianni\u00a0(24th season)
\nPlayer: Senior defensive lineman\u00a0Antoine Smith\u00a0(Pittsburgh, Pa.\/Serra Catholic)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Football | 8\/4\/2026 7:10:00 AM
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