Why It Matters: The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation’s (CSF) Collegiate Sportsmen and Women’s Coalition (CSWC) seeks to educate young adults from diverse interests and backgrounds about the importance of hunting, angling, trapping, and recreational shooting to fish and wildlife conservation while also providing them with hands-on education in how to effectively engage in the policy process to protect these traditions.
Highlights:
- CSF is continuing to expand our collegiate program to reach students across the nation. We are excited to add Pennsylvania State University to our growing network.
- The Collegiate Coalition provides college students with the unique opportunity to engage with other sportsmen and women with a wide variety of outdoor interests while also providing them with the tools to begin effectively engaging with the public policy process.
- Through this, the Collegiate Coalition aims to educate the outdoor sporting community’s next generation of conservation leaders.
CSF’s newest Collegiate Sportsmen and Women’s Coalition at Penn State is halfway through their first semester on campus and is working hard to fill an important niche for Penn State students. The Penn State Coalition received university approval in November of 2024, and finished out the fall semester by focusing heavily on recruitment of new members. CSF’s Collegiate Coalition Coordinator, Isabella Mucci, visited campus for their first meeting in February alongside CSF Board Member and past Chairman, Paul Miller. As a Penn State Alum, Miller was instrumental in starting the Penn State Coalition through his many faculty and student contacts on campus. Miller and Mucci spoke to students about the role of CSF, the history of conservation efforts in the United States that led to the creation of the North American Model for Wildlife Conservation, and the role of the American System of Conservation Funding. With the help of CSF’s regional States Program Team staff, students were also given an overview of key policy issues in Pennsylvania during the 2025 legislative session. The students in attendance were from many different cities and towns in Pennsylvania and beyond, had a wide variety of outdoor interests, and were pursuing multiple different degree paths, showcasing the diverse backgrounds and interests that the CSWC caters to. In just a few short months, this Coalition is becoming a place on campus where sportsmen and women, whether they be hunters, anglers, trappers, or recreational shooters can connect to learn more about the role that our outdoor sporting traditions play in conservation policy.
Penn State Coalition President, Dominic Starr, spoke to CSF about what the Collegiate Sportsmen and Women’s Coalition means to him:
“I wanted to bring CSWC to Penn State because I believe in the advancement of conservation efforts in Pennsylvania, and I want to give sportsmen on campus a chance to participate in shaping conservation policy. This chapter is more than just an organization: it is a way for like-minded students at PSU to form connections with one another, not just to go on hunting and fishing trips and share our favorite stories from the field, but to learn more about and have a say in the outdoor policies that impact us as sportsmen and women. I look forward to working with the Congressional Sportsman Foundation and the Pennsylvania State University to get more students involved and eager to make a difference!”
Through discussions with students about various policy issues, policy engagement opportunities, and connecting them with guest speakers to talk about the career opportunities in conservation, the Collegiate Sportsmen and Women’s Coalition aims to ensure that the next generation of conservation leaders have the tools they need to make a positive impact on the outdoor sporting community both now and in their future careers. As CSF continues to grow and support the CSWC network, we look forward to continuing to provide these students with valuable educational and networking opportunities. We also expect this initiative to bridge the gap between students’ personal experience with our sporting traditions and their knowledge of policy issues that impact sportsmen and women across the country.
CSF is proud to support the Penn State Coalition and looks forward to bringing the Collegiate Sportsmen and Women’s Coalition to other schools around the country as we seek to impact and educate more future conservation leaders. Please reach out to CSF’s Collegiate Sportsmen and Women’s Coalition Coordinator Isabella Mucci (imucci@congressionalsportsmen.org) to explore bringing CSWC to a campus near you or to look for opportunities to connect with and speak to existing Coalitions at Clemson University, Louisiana State University, the University of Mississippi, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of South Carolina.
