LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Fresh off its first winning season in 44 years, the Lock Haven football team is set to open its 2026 season by traveling to Shippensburg on Saturday (Aug. 29) as part of College Football's week zero action.
 
Week 0
Lock Haven at Shippensburg
When: Saturday, Aug. 29, 1 p.m.
Where: Shippensburg, Pa.
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Lock Haven Football
Roster | Schedule
 
The Bald Eagles will open the 2026 season on Saturday, Aug. 18 by traveling to Shippensburg for a noon kickoff during week zero. The Haven is 20-57 all-time vs. Ship, but have flipped the script as of late and are riding a three-game winning streak heading into the week zero matchup this season. The Bald Eagles won 35-21 at Shippensburg in 2025.
 

A Look Back at 2025 
In 2025, the Lock Haven football team secured its first winning season in 44 years, clinching their first winning season since 1981.
 
The Bald Eagles finished the season 6-5 overall after going 4-3 in PSAC Eastern Division action.
 
The winning season was secured in large part because of tremendous play during the second half of the season.
 
After a 1-3 start, Lock Haven won five of the last seven games on the schedule.
 
The 5-2 run down the stretch put an exclamation point on an all-around sensational season for first-year head coach Battaglia and his coaching staff. The six wins are believed to be the most for a first-year Lock Haven head coach since H.J. Kaiser led Lock Haven to seven wins in 1931.


 
INDIVIDUAL SUCCESS
Defensive back Markel Morgan and linebacker Rocco Daugherty were named to the All-League First Team to highlight six Bald Eagle All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) selections in 2025.
 
Daugherty earned his first all-conference nod as a junior as a First Team All-PSAC East Linebacker.
 
Morgan, a senior defensive back, also landed his first all-league selection.
 
Jackson Ostrowsky, Justin Popovich, Damir Green and Rhys McDonald rounded out the Bald Eagle All-PSAC Selections as members of the Eastern Division's Second Team.

The six standouts helped The Haven clinch its first winning season in 44 years after finishing 2025 with a 6-5 overall record and 4-3 mark in the PSAC East. Three of Lock Haven's losses came at the hands of a top-10 team in the NCAA DII Football Super Region One.
 
Head Coach Joe Battaglia
Seasons: 1
Lock Haven Career Record: 6-5
Battaglia was named to the American Football Coaches Association's 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute, the organization announced on Monday (Dec. 8).


 
2026 Signing Day
The class features 33 athletes from Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Each of the new Bald Eagles have signed a National Letter of Intent, have been accepted and/or enrolled at Lock Haven.
 
The group features 27 incoming freshmen and six transfers.
 
"I am thrilled to welcome these 33 new Bald Eagles to Haven Nation," Battaglia said. "Coming off our best season in the last 44 years, the momentum and energy has never been higher, and these young men will help us elevate this program to where we want to get to. I'm extremely proud of this coaching staff for putting this signing class together as they worked tirelessly these last few months to ensure the sustained trajectory of this program. The future has never been brighter for Lock Haven Football." 
 
Full Signing Day Release (Click Here)
 
2026 PSAC Football Preseason Coaches' Poll (first place votes in parentheses)
The Haven is officially returning to the PSAC West for the first time since 2012, after the addition of Lackawanna to the PSAC East. Lackawanna games will not count toward conference standings and postseason awards during 2026.
 
WESTERN DIVISION
1. IUP (5)
2. Slippery Rock (3)
3. California
4. Edinboro
5. Clarion
6. Seton Hill
7. Lock Haven
8. Gannon
 
EASTERN DIVISION
1. Kutztown (6)
2. East Stroudsburg
3. Shepherd (1)
4. West Chester
5. Bloomsburg
6. Shippensburg
7. Millersville
 
The Road Ahead
Lock Haven remains on the road and will travel to American International in Springfield, Mass. For a 3 p.m. non-conference game.
 
The Haven's home-opener is slated for Saturday, Sept. 19 when Kutztown comes to town at 6 p.m. on Lock Haven Community Night at Hubert Jack Stadium.