PENN Entertainment Publishes 2024 Corporate Responsibility Report

PENN Entertainment, Inc., (“PENN” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: PENN) North America’s leading provider of integrated entertainment, sports content and casino gaming experiences, published today its 2024 Corporate Responsibility report. The full report is available on the Corporate Responsibility page of the Company’s website.

The 2024 Report details PENN’s longstanding commitment to supporting its team members and neighbors, practicing good corporate citizenship, and ensuring responsible stewardship of the planet’s natural resources. These programs and initiatives comprise The PENN Way, which is reflective of the Company’s core values and the unique culture at PENN.

Key highlights of PENN’s 2024 Corporate Responsibility Report Include:

• PENN Entertainment, through its Corporate office, retail casinos and Interactive businesses in Canada and Gibraltar, donated approximately $9 million in support of local charities and Veterans-focused organizations, and generated more than $16 million in economic development grants.

• PENN team members volunteered over 11,000 hours to help those in need.

• Awarded over $4.2 million in need-based scholarships to the children of our team members since the inception of our PENN Scholarship Fund, 58% of whom are first generation college students, and 61% of whom are female. In 2024, we recognized 44 graduates from the first year of our program.

• With an ongoing focus on sustainability, we set an abatement goal of a 25% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and we expanded our climate-related disclosures, including filing with three of the major reporting frameworks for the first time.

Jay Snowden, CEO and President of PENN Entertainment commented: “I am thankful for the tireless efforts of our Board’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, our internal Corporate Responsibility committee, and all of our Corporate, property and Interactive leadership teams for championing The PENN Way. Providing support to causes that are most important to our team members, customers, and key stakeholders is core to who we are, and I’m incredibly proud of all the work being done across PENN to carry forth these initiatives.”

About PENN Entertainment, Inc.

PENN Entertainment, Inc., together with its subsidiaries (“PENN,” or the “Company”), is North America’s leading provider of integrated entertainment, sports content, and casino gaming experiences. PENN operates in 28 jurisdictions throughout North America, with a broadly diversified portfolio of casinos, racetracks, and online sports betting and iCasino offerings under well-recognized brands including Hollywood Casino®, L’Auberge®, ESPN BET™, and theScore BET Sportsbook and Casino®. PENN’s ability to leverage its partnership with ESPN, the “worldwide leader in sports,” and its ownership of theScore™, the top digital sports media brand in Canada, is central to the Company’s highly differentiated strategy to expand its footprint and efficiently grow its customer ecosystem. PENN’s focus on organic cross-sell opportunities is reinforced by its market-leading retail casinos, sports media assets, and technology, including a proprietary state-of-the-art, fully integrated digital sports and iCasino betting platform, and an in-house iCasino content studio (PENN Game Studios). The Company’s portfolio is further bolstered by its industry-leading PENN Play™ customer loyalty program, offering its over 32 million members a unique set of rewards and experiences.

Eric Schippers

Senior Vice President, Public Affairs & Government Relations

PENN Entertainment

610-373-2400

Joseph N. Jaffoni

JCIR

212-835-8500 or penn@jcir.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250623571696/en/

By: Mark Wasik

KENNESAW, Ga. – Games against three NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago along with contests at Power Four squads Arkansas and a home match against Michigan State highlight Kennesaw State’s 2025 volleyball slate, as the Owls announced their 26-game slate on Monday.
 
“I’m super excited for this season, the roster we have in place, and this schedule,” said KSU head coach Keith Schunzel. “We had a great spring training block, an incredible overseas trip, we returned 15 players from a semifinal team in 2024, and we’ll add two talented freshmen to the mix this summer. With how much experience and talent we have returning we didn’t schedule with guaranteed wins in mind, rather we scheduled to challenge ourselves and give ourselves opportunities to play against high level teams. If some things go our way in non-conference play, hopefully we can earn a few wins with this tough schedule and carry a solid RPI heading into league play.”
 
KSU starts the season on the road with a weekend tournament at Wichita State. The Owls will open against the host Shockers on Aug. 29, followed by a neutral site contest against Arkansas on Aug. 30. That will be followed by a mid-week game at in-state rival Mercer on Sept. 2.
 

The Owls will then come home to Kennesaw for a five-game homestand, starting with a pair of games against South Carolina State on Sept. 6 and 7 in the Convocation Center. The next week will see the Owls host the annual Kennesaw State Invitational. KSU opens the event against Michigan State on Sept. 11 and will also face Appalachian State (Sept. 13) and Troy (Sept. 14). The non-conference slate will then conclude the next weekend with a pair of games at Tennessee, with a neutral site contest against Alabama A&M on Sept. 18 followed by a contest against the Vols on Sept. 19.

Four of the Owls’ first six Conference USA games will be on the road, starting with two contests at Middle Tennessee on Sept. 26-27, while the Owls’ first home conference games will be on Pct. 3-4 against Liberty. KSU will then play a four-game homestand, with two games against rival Jacksonville State (Oct. 17-18) before closing out against new league member Delaware (Oct. 24-25).

 

After a pair of games at Sam Houston (Oct. 31-Nov. 1), KSU will host UTEP for Senior Weekend on Nov. 7-8. The Owls will close out the regular season with a pair of games at New Mexico State on Nov. 14-15. This year’s CUSA Tournament will be hosted by FIU in Miami on Nov. 21-23.

 

“In CUSA, until someone can knock off the champs, it’s Western Kentucky’s league,” said Schunzel. “They haven’t lost a regular season league game in five seasons, so very clearly they’re the team to beat. But UTEP is rolling right now and they’re hungry. NMSU has found a way for years to compete at the top, Delaware is coming in to the league as a championship level program from their former conference so they’ll be very capable and confident, and then a bunch of other schools will have the talent and coaching to knock anyone off and make wins a hard thing to come by. We’re looking forward to a fun, challenging 2025!”

 

KSU brings back all seven starters from last year’s team that finished 19-14, including 10-8 in conference play to finish fourth. The Owls also reached the semifinals of the CUSA Tournament, marking the 10^th straight year KSU had reached the semifinal of a conference tournament.

 

The Owls Fund

The Owls Fund is the primary fundraising arm of Kennesaw State Athletics with the goal of supporting our student-athletes, coaches and each of our 18 NCAA Division I programs. Through initiatives such as Legacy Lockers, the Dot Martin Scholarship Golf Classic, sport-specific giving opportunities, general donations and season tickets, The Owls Fund connects fans with KSU’s programs and student-athletes. Members receive exclusive benefits such as hospitality seating areas and events at Kennesaw State home games, and more. Joining The Owls Fund here and discover more opportunities on how you can support Kennesaw State Athletics.

 

WICHITA, Kan. – Head coach Chris Lamb and the Wichita State volleyball program finalized their 2025 schedule on Monday, including a season-opening home tournament and a home date against in-state rival Kansas.

Among the 12 non-conference teams the Shockers have on the schedule, seven finished the 2024 season in the top 100 of the RPI and three (BYU, Kansas, South Dakota) qualified for the NCAA tournament.

Wichita State will host the Shocker Volleyball Classic to kick off the campaign, marking the first time since the 2007 season that WSU has opened the season at home. The Shockers host Kennesaw State in the season opener on Friday, August 29, then conclude the competition against SEC foe Arkansas on Sunday, August 31.

From there Wichita State heads to Provo, Utah for a tournament hosted by perennial national power BYU. The Shockers will take on Incarnate Word and the host Cougars on Friday, September 5 before battling a familiar opponent in Northern Colorado the following day. WSU has played Northern Colorado each of the last three seasons; the Bears are coming off a program record 28-win season in 2024.

The Shockers travel to Cookeville, Tennessee for a tournament featuring Radford, host Tennessee Tech and Samford on September 11-12, then return to Charles Koch Arena to square off with Kansas on Tuesday, September 16.

The final non-conference tournament takes WSU to Vermillion, South Dakota, where the Shockers take on Drake, South Dakota and Villanova. All three programs finished last season with top-100 RPIs.

The 16-match conference slate begins on September 26 at UAB. The Shockers will host Tulsa, Memphis, UAB, Tulane, North Texas, East Carolina, Charlotte and Rice, with road trips to UAB, Memphis, Tulsa, UTSA, Rice, Florida Atlantic, South Florida and Temple. The American Athletic Conference tournament will be hosted by South Florida and begins November 21 in Tampa, Florida.

The Shockers return 13 players from a team that finished the 2024 season with an 18-14 record, including outside hitters Brooklyn Leggett, Emerson Wilford, Gracie Morrow and Nadia Wasilewski plus middle blockers Maddie Wilson and Allie Paulsen. Katie Galligan and Grace Hett return to the back row, along with Gabi Maas, who missed the entirety of the 2024 season due to injury.

Lamb has added four transfers to the mix, bringing in outside hitter Sydney Dunning (Cal State Bakersfield), middle blocker Elinor Engel (Central Missouri), and setters Hannah Hawkins (High Point) and Jordan Heatherly (Memphis). The veteran head coach enters his 26th season in 2025, with a career record of 526-250.

At his core, Antonio Merlo is a teacher.

Whether he is in a classroom, overseeing a university department or on the pool deck, Drexel’s newest president has found his greatest reward in a single, powerful moment: when understanding dawns.

“There is nothing like looking at a student and seeing them have a lightbulb moment — a sudden flash in understanding of a complicated topic,” he said. “It’s amazing.”

The same spark, he explains, can ignite within a team. As a longtime water polo coach and seasoned higher education leader, Merlo has seen firsthand how transformation happens when ideas click — not just for individuals, but for entire groups.

“When everyone is on the same page, when everything starts to make sense, that is when the magic happens,” he said. “Then, everyone can be empowered, as well as take responsibility.”

Merlo has honed his teaching expertise as an economics professor and administrator at New York University, where he most recently served as the Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science, as well as at the nearby University of Pennsylvania, Rice University in Houston and at the University of Minnesota. Come July 1, Merlo intends to bring his leadership style — one in which he infuses his passion for collaborative learning with his entrepreneurial spirit — to Drexel as the institution’s 16th president.

Changing tides

Merlo joins Drexel as the University embarks on its Academic Transformation, a blueprint for reimagining the institution’s future through the integration of programs and schools, redesign of curriculum and transition to a semester calendar — offering an improved and more flexible academic experience for students. Since being named president in January, Merlo has emphasized his commitment to the initiative and his strong belief that it is giving Drexel an advantage to outshine the rest, especially when combined with the University’s expertise in experiential education.

“The Drexel community has been willing to engage in this process of Academic Transformation, look under the hood and reinvent, while so many other institutions have been sitting on the sidelines,” Merlo said. “This is the type of action we need to take if we want to be a model university for the next century.”

Aside from Academic Transformation, Merlo was attracted to Drexel because of its longtime dedication to inclusive education. Merlo, the son of working-class parents in Italy, and the first in his family to attend college, is living proof that higher education is an important engine to social mobility.

“In a way, I embody what Drexel has been and can be for so many,” Merlo said, noting that without scholarships, he wouldn’t have had the resources to pursue his doctoral degree in the U.S.

An academic entrepreneur

Merlo attended Bocconi University in Milan for his undergraduate degree in economics and social sciences, where he said he “fell in love with academia.” He attended NYU for his doctoral degree, studying economics, and secured his first job out of college as an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota.

“I applied for over 70 jobs, and I was open to moving anywhere,” recalled Merlo. “I ended up at the University of Minnesota and it was an incredible opportunity for me.”

Merlo said he remembers feeling intimidated at first, “working alongside geniuses” at one of the top economics departments in the country. Five of his colleagues would later earn a Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.

“It was a remarkable experience,” he said. “I learned so much there.”

After six years of growth at the University of Minnesota, and a stint as an adjunct consultant in the research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Merlo was lured back to NYU for a few years as an associate professor with tenure, where he had a joint position in economics and political science. He landed in Philadelphia and at Penn in 2000, where he earned recognition time and again for his scholarship and teaching, including the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2009, and the Irving B. Kravis Prize for Distinction in Undergraduate Teaching in Economics on five separate occasions.

Throughout the years, Merlo’s scholarship has fused economics with politics, with his expertise hovering over political economy, policy analysis, public economics, bargaining theory and applications and empirical microeconomics. A little more than five years ago, after three decades of teaching, Merlo published an undergraduate textbook that focuses on political economy and policy analysis, which is used as an educational resource across the country. His research interests span the gamut, from the economics of crime, voting, the study of the residential housing market, and more, and he has been cited most for his scholarship involving politicians’ career decisions and bargaining theory in a stochastic environment.

“Politics affects economics and economics affects politics on a daily basis,” Merlo said, when asked why he got into this particular field of research. “I felt like I couldn’t study economics alone, and I wasn’t solely interested in politics per se, but I have always been very interested in how the political system and the economic system constantly interact to determine the world we live in.”

It was at Penn, where Merlo worked for 14 years, that he really got a taste of higher education administration and university service, convening conferences, fundraising for new fellowships and establishing global student exchange and research collaborations. He was appointed director of the Penn Institute for Economic Research in addition to his Lawrence R. Klein professorship and was a research associate at the university’s Population Studies Center and a member of the Center for Italian Studies advisory board.

Later at the Ivy League institution, Merlo became the chair of the Economics Department, before he took on the same role at Rice University, where he quickly rose through the ranks, becoming dean of Rice’s School of Social Sciences. As a dean at Rice, Merlo was instrumental in completing a major fundraising effort, which supported the construction of a state-of-the-art academic building, endowed chairs and graduate and undergraduate student fellowships. He also partnered with government agencies and nonprofit groups to establish a public policy research institute.

In 2019, he was recruited back to NYU, where he served as what some call a “super dean” — overseeing its Faculty of Arts & Science, the university’s largest academic unit, comprising of 1,600 faculty and staff members, three schools, dozens of departments, research centers, institutes and cultural houses. In this role, Merlo worked meticulously and strategically to expand the limits of NYU Arts & Science, overseeing the completion of a new, innovative home for the college, NYU’s founding school; establishing new centers and an office of research; growing research and fundraising dollars; and hiring 120 tenure-line faculty.

Coach Merlo

In addition to his academic and administrative duties, Merlo has also served as a beloved head coach for both men’s and women’s water polo teams at NYU, Penn and Rice. Coaching allowed him to connect with students on a deeper, more personal level, all while sharing in the sport he has played since childhood.

“Being a coach just allows you to interact with students at a different level, which I really enjoyed,” Merlo said. “I have huge respect and admiration for student athletes. You want to see leadership in action? Go visit with a sports team at a college.”

Sure, it was a lot, balancing his regular work with coaching, admitted Merlo. But it was worth it.

“The students juggle so many things, and I was like, if they can do it, I can do it,” he said. “It was always a joy to be a coach.”

Merlo brings his coaching mindset into every facet of his work — motivating, mentoring and always aiming for excellence. As he prepares to step into his new role at Drexel, his enthusiasm is unmistakable.

“Go Team Drexel,” he said. “Now it’s our time to win championships.”

Drexel’s bright future

A proud “city person,” Merlo has officially moved back to Philadelphia and is comfortably settling in, relishing long walks (his ideal mode of transportation) and the food and cultural scene he’s always adored. He has also embarked on his “listening tour,” meeting with folks from across the University with the goal of having a boost on Day 1 to “hit the ground running.”

“I want to meet everyone I possibly can, hear their concerns, understand what their pain points are, what their aspirations are, and really start putting all these pieces together with a strong team to continue moving Drexel forward,” he said.

Drexel’s Academic Transformation, which is at the top of Merlo’s priorities, will make the institution more attractive to students, better support scholars, build innovative programs and ultimately increase the institution’s impact on society. He has other big plans, for instance, to uplift Drexel’s alumni network and ramp up fundraising, with more details to be unveiled in the coming months. An inauguration celebration is expected to take place next spring.

“One of my goals is for Drexel to be discussed at dinner tables around the country,” said Merlo. “I want our concept of experiential learning to shine, and for everyone — whether you are in Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, Pennsylvania or beyond — to say, ‘How about Drexel?’”

Duke Football picked up a commitment from South Carolina wideout Jayden Boyd during an official visit taken by the prospect over the weekend.

Boyd, a 5-foot-11, 170 pound WR/DB out of Fairfield-Central High in Winnsboro, SC, becomes the 11th player from the class of 2026 to commit to head coach Manny Diaz and the Blue Devils in the class of 2026, and the first from South Carolina in this cycle.

“The coaches just told me they all work together as one,” said Boyd. “Duke isn’t just a school of athletics or academics, it’s the best of both. I went into this weekend’s visit with an open mind about everything, and I enjoyed how together everyone was from players to coaches.”

(This story has been updated to add excerpts from an interview with Elle Potter.)

NBA player Micah Potter and his wife Elle Potter, a D1 volleyball standout, on Monday kicked off a four-day opportunity for rising athletes on Guam to learn more about their sport.

Harvest Christian Academy brought the Potters to Guam.

The 6’9” Micah Potter is a power forward and center for the Utah Jazz, while his wife Elle Potter is a Division 1 college volleyball standout from Loyola University Chicago.

The couple is hosting the Potter NBA x D1 Next LVL Sports Camp for grades third through 12th at Harvest Christian Academy from June 23 to 26.

Planning for the sport camp started in January when one of Harvest Christian Academy’s assistant basketball coaches, Titus Baugus, reached out to Micah Potter.

At the same time, Potter’s father, Tim Potter, a pastor speaking at a Harvest church event, introduced the idea to the school’s pastors.

“I’ve known Titus for years, and he brought up the idea of my wife and I coming out here and running some sports camps,” Micah Potter told the Pacific Daily News on Monday. “When he told me about it, it was during the season, so I was more focused on the season.”

But once the season ended, “things came to fruition,” the NBA player said.

“And within about two weeks, all the details came together. We prayed about it, and we decided to commit to it, and here we are, and we’re really excited,” Micah Potter said.

‘Talent only gets you so far’

The main goal is for the participants to leave with a winning mindset they can use outside of sports.

Statistically, very few athletes continue to play college sports and fewer advance to professional leagues.

Micah Potter’s focus instead is to help participants understand the value of hard work.

“You can have a lot of talent, but talent only gets you so far, and then once you get to that point, you have to make sure your work backs up your talent,” he said. “[We want] to instill the detailed mindset that it takes, the drive that it takes, the sacrifice that it takes. I’m not saying every one of these kids are going to make it to that level, because, statistically, it’s just not gonna happen.”

But in any aspect of life, he said, that mindset will help them.

“Whether it’s their regular job, helping raise their kids, or treating their wife, husband, boss, or coworker with respect, all of those attributes apply to every aspect of life, so we’d love to be able to help these kids understand that,” Micah Potter said.

Faith at the core

Besides skill, technique, and the proper mentality, Micah Potter’s greatest hope for the camp is instilling faith at the core of athletic training.

“We don’t want this camp to be a drag, or too hard that they won’t enjoy the sport that they’re playing,” Micah Potter said. “Elle and I are both excited to teach these kids the love for the game that we had. On top of that, we really want them to know where our true identity comes from and where our true joy comes from, and that’s our relationship with Jesus.”

He continued, “We want them to have fun [and] develop their skills in the sport that they’re coming for, whether it’s volleyball or basketball, [but also] we want them to understand the love that Jesus has for them.”

Integrating sports and ministry in a joint venture has been a long-time goal of the Potters, and this opportunity with Harvest Christian Academy has finally allowed them to fulfill their goal.

Both of them have previous experience working at basketball and volleyball camps during their college careers.

Furthermore, Elle Potter previously traveled with Josiah Venture to Eastern Europe, leading volleyball camps in Moldova, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic. However, the couple has never led a faith-based camp together until now.

“All of that has just prepared us for now, and I’m glad to be here, glad to have kids that are excited to learn stuff, maybe from a different coach or a different viewpoint,” Elle Potter told the PDN. “We’re excited to be here [and] do this camp together, because that’s what we’ve wanted to do for a while, and it’s our first time.”

Goal, purpose

Josh Thaler, the athletic director at Harvest Christian Academy, expanded on this goal and the difference between a person’s goal as an athlete and their purpose as a Christian.

“One of the things I instill in my players is winning is the goal, never the purpose,” Thaler said. “Micah’s career is literally based on trying to win as much as possible, but that’s never his purpose in life, that’s not why God made him. God made him to honor God and to live his life for Christ, but the number of wins or the number of losses is never going to take that away from Micah. Christ is such an important part of our lives that’s going to overflow in every aspect that we do and in every conversation we have.”

In this vein, an important lesson the Potters want participants to remember is that victory in competition should be sought for the collective’s sake and not for personal gain.

Although their primary angle pertains to ministry, this lesson echoes the same team mentality that every coach drills into their athletes.

“We believe that pride comes before you fall,” Elle Potter said. “If the whole motive behind wanting to be the best at a sport or wanting to win is [personal] glory, then it’s all twisted. The kids who are the best at their sport, their end goal [should be] to use their sport to ultimately further the kingdom. At the end of the day, sometimes, you might be the only Bible that somebody reads. They just see you, your actions, and how you treat people.”

As the Potters attribute much of their success to their faith, they want to share what biblical themes they believe have helped them succeed with aspiring athletes.

“The main priority is that it’s a sports camp, but that’s like 1a, and 1b is the Christian themes that go along with applying to sports,” Micah Potter said. “My wife and I, our identity comes from Christ, not from our sport, and the only reason that we were able to make it to the levels that we have is because of our relationship with Jesus.”

“There’s so many biblical principles that apply to doing things the right way — having a good attitude, self control, discipline, work ethic, doing all of that for the glory of God — and we’ll make sure that that is an emphasis,” he added.

More can still join the sports camp

Although the camp is underway, spots are still available for anyone that wants to join.

Additional information and how to register can be found at http://hcaguam.org/summer.

There is also a free admission event for teens on Friday, June 27.

Harvest Christian Academy said it will host an open basketball and volleyball tournament for camp participants and others who want to play and meet the Potters before they leave.