In the lexicon of collegiate coaches, “expectations” has become somewhat of a taboo subject. As an illustrative example, think about the approach of Penn’s famously process-oriented track and cross country coach, Steve Dolan.

In preparation for the upcoming season, Penn football held its annual Media Day on Monday. With a new head coach and two new head coordinators, there was certainly a lot to be said.

When my colleagues and I interview the coaches and players that comprise Penn Athletics, it’s fair to say that our conversations are more often than not devoid of anything, to put it bluntly, bold. Luckily, I get to have a less stringent filter.

If Penn Athletic Director Grace Calhoun was using the past year to build the platform for a presidential run, her campaign slogan would be simple: Change you can believe in. After Steve Bilsky’s two-decade tenure atop the Penn Athletics mountain, Calhoun took over a program last July that had myriad parts going nowhere.

Don't forget about the new guy. It's fair to say things didn't go anywhere close to planned for Penn football in 2014.

The 2015-16 school year is about to get underway, and along with new students filling into Huntsman Hall and the Quad, a handful of rookies have a chance to make an immediate impact for Penn Athletics.

We are within three months of the true beginning of the Donahue era for Penn basketball.

This summer, Penn Baseball alumni Austin Bossart and Ronnie Glenn have taken their talents from the Ivy League to the Minor Leagues. Bossart and Glenn recently began their professional baseball careers after being selected in June’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Can’t make it to Franklin Field to watch Penn football live in action this fall? No fear. The Quakers announced this week that the team will play three of its games on national television.

Competition may be over for rising senior Sam Mattis, but that hasn’t stopped the awards from continuing to roll in for him. With the dog days of summer approaching, the star discus thrower has been named male Outdoor Field Scholar Athlete of the Year by the U.S.

Earlier this month, Penn squash assistant coach Gilly Lane coached the US men’s team to a bronze medal at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. Lane, who graduated from the College in 2007 after earning All-America, All-Ivy and team MVP honors all four years at Penn, served as a player-coach for the men’s team last year in the 2014 Pan American Sports Festival, where the men qualified for this year’s event by placing third. The head of the US national teams, Paul Assaiante, wanting to maintain continuity between the 2014 and 2015 events, offered Lane the men’s head coach position if he did not make the team as a player. “I jumped at the chance when they put it out there to me,” Lane said.

Nothing says honoring history like an homage to the past. It's been over a decade since college basketball fans in Philadelphia have seen one of the city's greatest hardwood traditions take place.

Coach Steve Donahue and his staff have hit the ground running, already getting two commitments for the Class of 2020.

He narrowly missed swimming in the 2012 Olympics. This time around, Brendan McHugh is determined to achieve his dream and punch his ticket to Rio for the 2016 Games. McHugh, a former Quaker swimming standout, will first compete in the FINA World Masters Championships in Kazan, Russia, which are set to begin July 24.

With dual-threat quarterback Alek Torgersen back for more in 2015, along with a healthy and reloaded supporting cast, Penn football’s offense could once again be among the Ivy League’s best. After finishing sixth in the Ancient Eight in points per game in 2014, Torgersen and the Penn offense will enter their first season under the direction of Offensive Coordinator John Reagan, who spent the last four years in the same role at Kansas (2014) and Rice (2011-2013). Reagan, a former three-year starter on the offensive line at Syracuse who has coached the college game since 1994, is seeking a quick turnaround for an offense that was young last season but enters 2015 with experience and poise. Reagan and Torgersen did not wait long to get to work, spending time together throughout the spring and part of the summer.

The Boston Celtics announced this week that former Penn men’s basketball coach Jerome Allen will join the team in an assistant coaching role.

Last season was filled with unfulfilled expectations for both Penn men’s and women’s soccer. However, any disappointing season is partially redeemed by the fact that another lies right around the corner.