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Penn State Harrisburg Director of Athletics Rahsaan Carlton is set to begin his 19th year at the helm of the school's athletic department in 2023-24. 

During Carlton’s tenure, Penn State Harrisburg's athletic programs have reached historic heights, combining to win one NCAA Division III National Championship, make 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, and capture 17 conference titles. Individually, Penn State Harrisburg student-athletes and coaches have racked up 12 all-America accolades, a national player of the year finalist honor, three College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America plaudits, five regional player of the year awards, one regional coach of the year moniker, 78 all-region honors, 16 CSC Academic All-District accolades, 67 conference major awards, and a pair of NCAA Woman of the Year conference honorees.

Carlton’s duties include overseeing Penn State Harrisburg’s 17 varsity intercollegiate athletic programs, providing direct supervision to 11 head coaches and numerous athletic administrators, and managing all athletic department efforts, including day-to-day operations and budgetary needs. He also actively monitors the department's initiatives focused on student-athlete welfare, equity, and sportsmanship. 

Most recently, Penn State Harrisburg added field hockey as its newest varsity offering, with the program set to begin NCAA competition in the fall of 2024. In the spring of 2023, Penn State Harrisburg hosted its first NCAA Regional, with the baseball program serving as host for a best-of-five series in May. In the past five seasons alone, Penn State Harrisburg has won one national championship and 11 conference titles to go along with a dozen NCAA Tournament appearances.

Through his efforts, Penn State Harrisburg has seen vast growth and improvement in its athletic facilities over the past decade-plus. A new multipurpose turf field, complete with lights and video scoreboard, was recently constructed and dedicated in 2021. The beautiful facility serves as home to the men’s and women’s soccer programs and provides practice space for all of the college’s athletic programs. In 2018, the generosity of the Douglas W. Pollock Foundation led to the overhaul of softball’s Courtney Pollock Memorial Field, including the addition of a press box, new batting cages, and a new backstop behind home plate. In 2006, construction was completed on the Hoverter Tennis Complex thanks to the generosity of the Lawrence L. and Julia Z. Hoverter Charitable Foundation. An eight-court playing surface with lights, it serves as the home of the men’s and women’s tennis programs and remains one of the top facilities in the region.

Carlton’s arrival at Penn State Harrisburg coincided with the school’s reintroduction of intercollegiate athletics for the first time in more than a decade in 2005. He guided the school into its NCAA era and led the department through the NCAA’s exploratory and provisional membership process beginning in 2006 before Penn State Harrisburg officially obtained NCAA Division III membership in the fall of 2010.  

In addition to his Penn State Harrisburg responsibilities, Carlton has served on numerous committees and councils throughout his career. Most recently, Carlton served as the Chair of the NCAA Division III Nominating Committee from 2020 to 2022 after serving on the committee from 2018 to 2022. He served as Chair of the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interest Committee in 2013 and 2014, while also previously serving on the B1G Advisory Commission, Penn State University’s Athletics Council for Diversity and Inclusion, the John McClendon Award Selection Committee, and the NCAA Ethnic Minorities and Women’s Enhancement Selection Committee. 

A four-year varsity letterwinner as a member of Penn State’s men’s basketball program from 1992 to 1997, Carlton served as a team captain during his senior campaign. He played for the Nittany Lions during one of the stronger runs in program history that included a No. 5 seed in the 1996 NCAA Tournament and a third-place finish in the 1995 National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Carlton was a standout at nearby Susquehanna Township High School and in June of 2015, he was inducted into the Capital Area Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.  

Carlton earned his Bachelor’s of Science in Recreation Management from Penn State University in 1997 and earned his Master’s Degree in Health Education from Penn State in 2010.