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The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of
Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...
, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The intercollegiate athletics logo was commissioned in 1983. Penn State participates as a member institution of the
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
at the
National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
(NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level for most sports. It is one of only 15 universities in the nation that plays Division I FBS football and Division I men's ice hockey. Two sports participate in different conferences because they are not sponsored by the Big Ten: men's
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) and
women's ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...
in
College Hockey America College Hockey America (CHA) is a college ice hockey conference in the United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The conference is made up of five women’s teams, with two in Pennsylvania; two in New Y ...
(CHA). The fencing teams operate as independents. Penn State has finished in the top 25 in every
NACDA Director's Cup The NACDA Directors' Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the NACDA Learfield Directors' Cup or simply as the Directors' Cup, is an award given annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to the colleges and univers ...
final poll, a feat only matched by nine other institutions:
Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...
,
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
,
USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...
,
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
,
Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
, and
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. The NACDA Director's Cup is a list compiled by the
National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) is a professional organization for college and university athletic directors in the United States. NACDA boasts a membership of more than 6,100 individuals and more than 1,600 ins ...
that charts institutions' overall success in college sports. Penn State's highest finish came in the 1998–99 standings when the Nittany Lions finished 3rd. PSU finished in 5th place in the 2013–14 standings; it was the fifth time the program finished in the top 5 and the tenth time the program finished in the top 10.


Sports sponsored


Basketball


Men's basketball

Penn State's men's basketball program reached the Final Four once in 1954, though the best postseason finish in recent years occurred in 2001 with a trip to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament after a win over
UNC UNC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Education * University of Northern California (disambiguation), which may refer to: ** University of Northern California (Santa Rosa), in Petaluma, California, United States ** University of Nor ...
in the round of 32. The most recent postseason championship for Penn State was the
2018 National Invitation Tournament The 2018 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I college men's basketball teams that were not selected to participate in the 2018 NCAA tournament. The first three rounds of the annual tournament we ...
on March 29, 2018. Penn State outscored Utah 82–66 to capture its second men's basketball national title in school history and its third postseason tournament title since winning the
Atlantic-10 The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...
Tournament in 1991. The Nittany Lions lost in the first round of the 2011 NCAA tournament, the team's most recent postseason appearance. Notable alumni include: Frank Brickowski, John Amaechi, Calvin Booth, Mike Costello, Stanley Pringle, Geary Claxton, Jamelle Cornley, Lamar Stevens. Micah Shrewsberry is the current coach.


Women's basketball

The
Lady Lions The Penn State Lady Lions basketball team represents Pennsylvania State University and plays its home games in the Bryce Jordan Center. In 2013, the Lady Lions became just the 12th program in NCAA Division I history to reach 850 wins. Penn State ...
, the Penn State women's basketball team and the only athletic team not known as "Nittany Lions," have had more success than their male counterparts, often gaining berths into the women's NCAA tournament, reaching the Final Four once in 2000. The Lady Lions have reached the NCAA tournament more than any other
Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
team with 25 appearances as of 2014. The Lady Lions have won 8 Big Ten Regular Season Championships and 2 Big Ten tournament Championships. The most recent postseason championship won by Penn State was the
1998 Women's National Invitation Tournament 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
. Carolyn Kieger was in her second season as head coach of the Lady Lions in 2020–21.


Cross country

The men's cross country team won NCAA titles in 1942, 1947, and 1950. Before the NCAA began sponsoring the cross country championship in 1938, and unlike today, the annual
ICAAAA IC4A Championships (Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America) is an annual men's competition held at different colleges every year. Association was established in 1875, the competition (started in 1876) served as the top level co ...
meet was a premier national championship event for track and field and cross country. The team won ICAAAA championships in 1926, 1927, 1928 and 1930. Penn State runners won the individual ICAAAA titles in 1920 (John Romig), 1927 and 1928 (William Cox, consecutively). PSU men also won ICAAAA team titles in 1950, 1951, 1960 and 2000, as well as individual crowns in 1938, 1946, 1987 and 2004.


Fencing

Penn State has been a
fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...
powerhouse, having won a record 13
national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...
in the sport since the NCAA began awarding titles in combined men's and women's fencing in 1990. The team finished as champion or runner-up in 21 of the first 25 years of the combined tournament.NC Fencing Championship History
NCAA.com (2011-02-25). Retrieved on 2013-08-17.
The program won six consecutive NCAA Championships from 1995 to 2000. Emmanuil G. Kaidanov was the coach of the fencing squads during most of that period. The women's fencing team won national
AIAW The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...
titles in 1980 and 1981, followed by an NCAA championship in 1983. The team recruits both nationally and throughout the world. Penn State Nittany Lions assistant fencing coach George G. Abashidze, after a United States Center for SafeSport investigation found he had committed sexual misconduct in 2017, was banned by
USA Fencing The United States Fencing Association (USFA) is the national governing body for the sport of fencing in the United States. The USFA was founded on April 22, 1891, as the Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) by a group of 20 New York City fen ...
for three years, prompting Penn State to terminate him in 2019. A Penn State investigation into the matter confirmed the woman’s claims against Abashidze, but found that the assistant coach had not violated any university policies. The woman who was the object of the misconduct sued Penn State in 2020, charging that it had tried to cover up the incident. In September 2022, Penn State placed head fencing coach Wes Glon on paid leave pending more information about restrictions imposed on him by
USA Fencing The United States Fencing Association (USFA) is the national governing body for the sport of fencing in the United States. The USFA was founded on April 22, 1891, as the Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) by a group of 20 New York City fen ...
. In April 2022, a former Penn State fencer had filed a complaint against Glon and the university alleging physical, verbal, and psychological abuse by Glon. In May 2020, a complaint had also been filed by a female fencing coach after Glon allegedly failed to report sexual misconduct allegations against his assistant coach, George Abashidze; after an investigation by
SafeSport The United States Center for SafeSport is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 2017 under the auspices of the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017. SafeSport is tasked with a ...
into the same matter, he was ultimately required to serve a six-month term of probation for such failure.


Field hockey

The women's field hockey team is coached by Char Morett, a former Penn State field hockey player herself and 1984 Olympic bronze medalist. Penn State is one of the premier programs in the nation with 28
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
Tournament appearances, the third most in the nation. Since joining the Big Ten in 1992, the Nittany Lions have been dominant with more Big Ten Tournament titles than any other team and the second most regular season titles behind
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. In 2007, the women's
Field Hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...
team reached the National Championship game, but fell to undefeated
UNC UNC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Education * University of Northern California (disambiguation), which may refer to: ** University of Northern California (Santa Rosa), in Petaluma, California, United States ** University of Nor ...
, 3–0. In their tournament run, they were able to defeat two-time defending champion
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, 1–0, and defending national runner-up Wake Forest, 2–0. Jen Long was nominated for the
Honda Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in th ...
for her efforts. They also finished as NCAA runners-up in 2002, losing to Wake Forest in the title game 2–0 after defeating Old Dominion 3–2 in the semifinals. 2002 marked the first time Penn State reached the NCAA Finals and second time reaching the Final Four. The team won the AIAW national championships in 1980 and 1981. In 2011 the women's field hockey team won its fifth ever Big Ten title after defeating Michigan 3–2, and first since 1998 when they again defeated Michigan 3–1.


Football

Penn State has a large football following and attracts tens of thousands of visitors to its campus; the surrounding area is known as "Happy Valley" for tailgating and games on autumn Saturdays in Beaver Stadium. The largest crowd ever at Beaver Stadium was on October 21, 2017, as 110,823 people watched the Nittany Lions defeat the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
by a score of 42–13. The school has earned a reputation as "
Linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
U" for the number of high-quality linebackers trained. Joe Paterno was the head coach for the Nittany Lion football team from 1966 until he was fired on November 9, 2011, in the aftermath of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. He was regarded as one of the most successful national coaches, holding the record for wins and bowl appearance. Penn State plays in two football "trophy games" with other members of the Big Ten: the Governor's Victory Bell with the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
and the Land Grant Trophy game versus
Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...
. Prior to joining the Big Ten, Penn State was one of the strongest of the independent schools in college football. They played a number of schools regularly, including Pitt,
Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...
,
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
, Notre Dame,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, and
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
. Penn State has won the prestigious Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy, awarded for Eastern football supremacy, a record 29 times as of 2013. Penn State has also been named the ECAC FBS Team of the Year for a record 13th time. Penn State won consensus
National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...
in 1982 and 1986, both under Coach Paterno. The 1986 team won by defeating the
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...
in the 1987
Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been playe ...
, which remains one of the most watched college football game in history. The school has had a number of other undefeated teams including 1909, 1911, 1912, 1920, 1921, 1947, 1968, 1969, 1973, and 1994, some of which have been awarded
national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...
Penn State currently has a FBS bowl record of 29–18–2. Penn State is also among the leaders nationwide in terms of players advancing to the professional level. As of 2006, 29 former Penn State players and coaches were on the rosters of
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
teams, the tenth-highest such placement rate in the country. Penn State has been represented in at least one of the teams participating in the
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
37 of the 41 times the championship game has been played. A report indicated that Penn State's football program ranks 12th nationwide in terms of economic contributions to each program's university, athletic department, conference, and community. The report, based on ticket sales, sponsorships, football program expenses, athletic department expenses (non-football), shared conference profits, and county revenue figures during home football games, revealed that the Nittany Lions are presently worth roughly
US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
63 million. In July 2012, the NCAA announced several punitive measures as a result of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. In addition to vacating all wins between 1998 and 2011, Penn State was banned from post-season play for four years, and the number of scholarships was reduced. Players were free to transfer during the 2012 season without sitting out a year, but few did so. After details of the case emerged, the NCAA restored all vacated wins and rescinded both the remaining ban on post-season play and scholarship reduction.


Gymnastics

In 2007, the men's
gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
team won their NCAA record 14th national championship, by defeating powerhouse
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
at
Rec Hall Recreation Building, or Rec Hall as it is more commonly known, is a field house located on the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University. It was opened on January 15, 1929, and is still in use. Previously, Penn State's indoor s ...
, with the score of 221.000–220.200, denying them a
threepeat In North American sports, a three-peat is winning three consecutive championships. The term, a portmanteau of the words ''three'' and ''repeat'', originated with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, during their unsucces ...
. The women's team won the AIAW national championship twice, in 1978 and 1980, edging out other dominant teams such as Cal State-Fullerton and Utah.


Ice hockey


Men's ice hockey

Aside from five years in the 1940s, the men's ice hockey program has had varsity status since the 2012–13 season. The team plays in the
Pegula Ice Arena The Pegula Ice Arena is a 6,014-seat multi-purpose arena in University Park, Pennsylvania on the campus of Penn State University. The facility is located on the corner of Curtin Road and University Drive near the Bryce Jordan Center. The arena is ...
Pegulas Commit Historic Gift To Penn State For New Arena And Hockey Program – Penn State Official Athletic Site
. Gopsusports.com (2010-09-17). Retrieved on 2013-08-17.
Penn State men's, women's hockey programs to move from club level to Division I – ESPN
Sports.espn.go.com (2010-09-17). Retrieved on 2013-08-17.
and competed as an independent Division I team in the 2012–2013 season. In the 2013–2014 season, the team began play in the Big Ten conference's first year of sponsorship of men's ice hockey. Recently, the team achieved the number one ranking in Division I men's hockey for the first time in program history. Before becoming a varsity program, the men's
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
team, the Icers, competed at the
American Collegiate Hockey Association The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a college ice hockey association. The ACHA's purpose is to be an organization of collegiate affiliated non-varsity programs, which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes qualit ...
(ACHA) Men's Division I level and was a member of the
Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League The Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) is a collegiate hockey conference at the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division I level. The league was created in 2017 and is made up of seven teams located in the Northeast and ...
(ESCHL) from 2007–08 through 2010–11. Penn State won seven ACHA DI National Championships in 1984, 1990, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003. The Division II men's hockey club team were champions of the University Hockey League during the 2003–04 and 2001–02 seasons; they were runners-up during the 2002–03, 2000–01, and 1998–99 seasons.


Women's ice hockey

The women's program moved to the NCAA Division I level beginning in the 2012–13 season and joined
College Hockey America College Hockey America (CHA) is a college ice hockey conference in the United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The conference is made up of five women’s teams, with two in Pennsylvania; two in New Y ...
, becoming the fifth member of the conference. The team also plays in the Pegula Ice Arena. Before becoming a varsity program, the women's ice hockey team, the Lady Icers, competed at the ACHA Women's Division I level in the
Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League The Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League (ECWHL) is an American Collegiate Hockey Association Women's Division 1 club level hockey-only college athletic conference for women's hockey teams. It is one of four ACHA Women's Division 1 conferences ...
(ECWHL).


Lacrosse

The Penn State women's lacrosse teams have won two NCAA titles, in addition to three United States Women's Lacrosse Association championships in 1978, 1979, and 1980. The Penn State men's lacrosse team dates to 1913. Penn State has appeared in four NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournaments, including in 2003, 2005, 2013, and 2017. Penn State has had seven alumni and coaches inducted into the
National Lacrosse Hall of Fame The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum, is located in Sparks, Maryland at the USA Lacrosse headquarters. Prior to moving to its present location in 2016, the hall of fame and museum was located in Baltimore, Maryland, on the Homewood campu ...
, including Mary McCarthy Stefano, Gillian D. Rattray, Barb Jordan, Betsy Williams Dougherty, Candace "Candy" Finn Rocha, Joanne Connelly and
Thomas R. Hayes Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...
.


Soccer


Men's soccer

Before the NCAA began its tournament in 1959, the annual national champion was declared by the
Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association The NCAA held its first men's National Collegiate Soccer Championship in 1959, with eight teams selected for the tournament. Before 1959, national champions were selected by a committee of the Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association (ISFA) ba ...
from 1926 to 1958, the result of polls and the subjective opinion of the ISFA administrators. In that time, Penn State shared eight national championships and was selected three times as champion outright (1929, 1938, 1954). The rival College Soccer Bowl was held from 1950–1952 in an attempt to decide a national champion on the field. Penn State gained a last-minute tie in the 1950 championship final. The team won in 1951; however, the ISFA failed to select Penn State that year.


Women's soccer

The women's soccer team won its first NCAA national championship in 2015. The program has been particularly strong in recent years, as the team won 15 straight Big Ten Championships through the 2012 season, which was an all-time Big Ten record for women's teams. The streak surpassed the 12 by Michigan swimming & diving of the 1990s and led the then-ongoing run by Northwestern's women's tennis squad, which had won 14 straight titles through 2011.


Softball

The Nittany Lions softball team began play in 1965. The team has made ten NCAA Tournament appearances in 1983, 1985, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2011. The current head coach is
Clarisa Crowell Clarisa Crowell is an American former softball player and current head coach at Penn State. She previously served as the head coach at Miami. Playing career Crowell played college softball for Virginia Tech from 1999 to 2002. As a freshman, she ...
.


Track and field

Before the NCAA began sponsoring a national championship in 1965, the men's indoor track and field team won ICAAAA titles in 1942 and 1959. PSU men also won ICAAAA team titles in 1984, 1987, 2001, 2003 and 2006.


Volleyball

Penn State is home to one of the top men's and women's
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
programs. Penn State is one of only 5 schools—and the only school not in California—to win an NCAA Championship for both men and women's volleyball, the others being Stanford, UCLA,
USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...
, and
Long Beach State California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...
.


Men's volleyball

The men's volleyball team is coached by Mark Pavlik. The program has won two NCAA
National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...
in 1994 and 2008 and 16
EIVA The Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) is a college athletic conference whose member schools compete in men's volleyball. Its member institutions are located in the Northeast United States. The EIVA Tournament champion receives ...
titles out of 17 years, including 10 consecutive. They finished as NCAA National runners-up in 1982, 1995 and 2006, to UCLA each time (twice at Rec Hall). They reached the NCAA final four 24 times including 13 out of the last 14 years through the 2008 season and an NCAA record 10 consecutive (1998–2008). The men's first national title came in 1994, when they beat powerhouse
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
in five sets after being down 11–4 in the fourth set and then winning the fourth 15–12 and the fifth with the same score. The win made Penn State the first school outside of California in the then-24 year history to win an NCAA Men's volleyball championship. They won the NCAA title again in 2008, defeating
Pepperdine Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and th ...
3–1. With the win, Penn State men and women's programs swept the volleyball championships in the same academic year, joining Stanford from 1996–97 to be the only schools to accomplish the rare feat. Pavlik was named the 2008 AVCA National Coach of the Year.


Women's volleyball

The Penn State women's volleyball team, one of the nation's premier volleyball programs, is coached by
Russ Rose Russell David Rose (born November 29, 1953) is an American author, professor and was the women's volleyball coach at Penn State University (1979–2021). His lifetime head coaching record is 1330–229, which ranks first in NCAA Division I histo ...
, who, since his first season in 1979, has led the Nittany Lions to a record of 1,189 and 186, an .865 winning percentage, through the end of 2015. Rose stands as the NCAA Division I all-time winningest coach, as he owns the NCAA Division I Records for win percentage and total victories. Rose has won all but 51 of the program's wins. On December 17, 2009, Rose earned his 1,000th career victory with a win against
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
in the 2009 NCAA National Semifinals. In all but one season under Rose, there has been at least one AVCA All-American on his team. The program is one of only two DI universities to appear in every NCAA tournament (1981–2015). They have won seven NCAA
National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...
, the most all-time, in 1999, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, and 2014. They were the national runners-up in 1993, 1997, and 1998 and also reached the Final Four in 1994 and 2012. The team achieved unprecedented success from 2007–10. The Nittany Lions won four consecutive national titles in that span, the most consecutive titles in NCAA Division I history. In that historic stretch, Penn State won 109 consecutive matches (Sept. 21, 2007-Sept. 10, 2010), 111 consecutive sets (Dec. 15, 2007-Dec. 18, 2008), 94 consecutive home matches (Sept. 1, 2006-Dec. 11, 2010), and 55 consecutive road matches (Sept. 28, 2007-Sept. 10, 2010), all NCAA Division I records. The Lions were extraordinarily successful when Penn State was in the Atlantic 10 conference, as they won the title all 8 years without losing a single conference match before joining the Big Ten. In the Big Ten, the team has won 16 titles since 1991, including a conference record 8 straight (2003–10). During Big Ten play, Penn State went undefeated 6 times (1998, 1999, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009).


Wrestling

Before joining the Big Ten, Penn State was a member of the
Eastern Wrestling League The Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) was an NCAA Division I wrestling-only conference. It was made up mostly of schools from the northeastern United States whose primary conferences did not sponsor wrestling as an NCAA-qualifying event. The teams ha ...
from 1976 to 1992. Before that, Penn State was a member of the
Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association The Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) is an NCAA Division I collegiate wrestling conference. It held its first championship tournament in 1905, making it the oldest wrestling conference in the NCAA; the charter members were Colum ...
(EIWA). In April 2005, Penn State broke ground on a construction project designed to expand and modernize Rec Hall for the students, faculty, and staff who use the facility. As part of this renovation, Intercollegiate Athletics created the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex that ranks among the nation's finest facilities in the sport. Penn State Wrestling, under the guidance of head coach Cael Sanderson, entered the final session of the 2019 NCAA Championships having already clinched their eighth team title in nine years. Sanderson's squad left the National Finals and
PPG Paints Arena PPG Paints Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Pittsburgh, that serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). It previously was the home of the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2 ...
with three individual National Champions. Penn State had five NCAA finalists for the fourth straight year and won three titles, beginning at 285 with senior Anthony Cassar(Rocky Hill, N.J.) winning his first.
Jason Nolf Jason Michael Nolf (born January 10, 1996) is an American freestyle and former folkstyle wrestler. In freestyle, Nolf is the Pan American Champion at the 79-kilograms division. As a folkstyle wrestler, he is a three-time NCAA Division I Ch ...
(Yatesboro, Pa.) and Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas) each won their third straight crowns. The Nittany Lions won the team race with 137.5 points, finishing over 40.0 points ahead of second place Ohio State, which had 96.5. Oklahoma State finished third with 84.0. Penn State was the only team to score over 100.0 points. Penn State's national championship win in 2019 extended the program's streak to 4. A team from the Big Ten Conference has won the last 13.


Team sports

Penn State offers a program of "team sports," programs that have not been granted full varsity status, but are members of the Athletic Department and receive greater support than club sports. Penn State team sports "compete nationally at the highest level."The Official Site of Penn State Team Sports, https://www.athletics.psu.edu/teamsports/ Rugby (men's and women's) has been a team sport since 2005. Ice Hockey (men's and women's) was a team sport from 2005 until 2011, and has since been elevated to varsity status.


Rugby

The Penn State rugby program is classified by the university as a "Team Sport" within Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics Department, and therefore receives university support (paid coaches, facilities, health insurance, etc.) equivalent to a varsity program. As of 2011, Penn State rugby was funded 52% by alumni donations, 32% by player dues, and 16% by university contribution. Penn State
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
was founded in 1962 and plays in Division 1-A. Penn State has been one of the most successful programs in college rugby. Penn State advanced to the national semifinals 10 times from 1989 to 2007, and reached the finals 5 times from 1989 to 2001. With 76 registered players, Penn State was ranked as the largest college rugby program in the United States in 2009. Penn State made headlines when they defeated favored BYU 48–46 in the 2018 D1A quarterfinal to reach the semifinals. The women's rugby team fields a perennially competitive side, winning national titles in 1997, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. The 2014 Penn State Women's team won their ninth Collegiate National Championship, with a 58–0 semifinal victory over West Chester University and a 38–0 triumph in the championship match against Stanford.


Rugby sevens

Penn State has appeared in three consecutive editions (2010–12) of the
Collegiate Rugby Championship The Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) is an annual college rugby sevens tournament. The CRC is the highest profile college rugby sevens competition in the United States, with the tournament broadcast live on NBC from 2010–2017, on ESPN News an ...
(CRC). The CRC is played every year in June at PPL Park in Philadelphia, and is the highest profile college rugby sevens tournament in the US, broadcast on NBC. In the 2011 CRC, Penn State beat
Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
in a 12–10 match to qualify for the quarterfinals, where Penn State lost to eventual champions
Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...
7–12. Penn State has been successful in other rugby sevens competitions. For example, Penn State won the 2011 Subaru 7s tournament, and won the 2012 Halloween 7s tournament led by tournament MVP Blaze Feury. Penn State finished second at the 2012 Big Ten 7s, losing to Wisconsin in the final and missing out on qualification for the 2012 USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships.


Intercollegiate club sports

The university is home to a number of intercollegiate club sports that the university doesn't field at the NCAA level and/or sports not sponsored by the NCAA.


Billiards

Two Penn State students have won the national intercollegiate individual championship in billiards. In 1982 Thomas Golly won the men's title. In 1988 Janet Dordell captured the women's crown.


Crew

Penn State fields an intercollegiate club rowing team that competes on the national level. The team has participated in several regatta events, including the
Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta The Dad Vail Regatta is the largest regular intercollegiate rowing event in the United States, drawing over a hundred colleges and universities from North America. The regatta has been held annually on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsyl ...
and the American Collegiate Rowing Association national championship.


Croquet

Penn State's Club Croquet team was established in 2010 and has been growing since with nearly 150 members. It serves as the sole croquet team at Penn State and competes each year at the United States Croquet Association (USCA) collegiate championships. In 2017, the team won the USCA Collegiate National Championship in golf croquet.


Cross Country

The Penn State Club Cross Country is a member of th
National Intercollegiate Running Club Association
(NIRCA). The women's team has won five NIRCA National Championships (2006, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016) and the men's team has won one (2019).


Gymnastics

Penn State Club Gymnastics participates in NAIGC (National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs) competition. In recent history both the men's and women's teams have had great success, including national titles for the men in 2009 and 2010. The women have had similar success with top-five finishes every year since 2009.


Ice hockey

In addition to the varsity men's and women's ice hockey teams, PSU fields a men's club team in
American Collegiate Hockey Association The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a college ice hockey association. The ACHA's purpose is to be an organization of collegiate affiliated non-varsity programs, which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes qualit ...
Division 2 and the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association, as well as a women's club team in
American Collegiate Hockey Association The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a college ice hockey association. The ACHA's purpose is to be an organization of collegiate affiliated non-varsity programs, which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes qualit ...
Women's Division 1 and the
Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League The Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League (ECWHL) is an American Collegiate Hockey Association Women's Division 1 club level hockey-only college athletic conference for women's hockey teams. It is one of four ACHA Women's Division 1 conferences ...
.


Roller hockey

The PSU Roller Hockey team competes in
National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association The National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association (NCRHA) is an "incorporated not-for-profit corporation" which operates a national collegiate inline hockey league consisting of five divisions of competition (Division I, Division II, Division III, ...
at the NCRHA Division I level. The team is a Division I member of the
Eastern Collegiate Roller Hockey Association The National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association (NCRHA) is an "incorporated not-for-profit corporation" which operates a national collegiate inline hockey Sports league, league consisting of five divisions of competition (Division I, Division II ...
(ECRHA). Penn State also fields a team in the B Division of the NCRHA and ECRHA. The PSU B team won the NCRHA B Division Championship in 2010, the university's first national title in roller hockey.


Squash

Gail Ramsay won the intercollegiate women's squash championship a record four times in 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1980.


Swimming and Diving

Penn State also fields a competitive club swim and dive team that competes throughout the school year. With a membership of 100+, including all talents from former D1 swimmers to beginners, it is one of the more popular club sports at Penn State. The team finished 4th out of 50+ teams at the 2013 East Coast Collegiate Swim and Dive Club National Championships at Georgia Tech.


Men's ultimate

Penn State's team, named SPANK, competes in the USA Ultimate College Series at the D-1 level. They are in the Ohio Valley region, and face rival University of Pittsburgh at the regional championship every year. The B-team, Love Tap, also competes at the D-1 level, and serves as a developmental team for SPANK.


Men's Water Polo

The Men's Club Water Polo team competes in the Mid-Atlantic Division of the Collegiate Water Polo Association and has won nine Mid-Atlantic Division Championships (1998, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2022) to qualify for the National Collegiate Club Championship.


Championships


NCAA team championships

Penn State University has won 52 NCAA team national championships. *Men's (28): **
Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
(1): 1932 (unofficial) ** Cross country (3): 1942, 1947, 1950 **
Gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
(12): 1948, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1965, 1976, 2000, 2004, 2007 **
Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
(2): 1994, 2008 **
Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
(10): 1953, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 *Women's (11): **
Fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...
(1): 1983 **
Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...
(2): 1987, 1989 **
Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
(1): 2015 **
Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
(7): 1999, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014 *Co-ed (13) **
Fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...
(13): 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014


Other national team championships

Below are 34 national team titles in current and former NCAA sports that were not bestowed by the NCAA: *Men’s (23): **Boxing (4): 1924, 1927, 1929, 1930 **Cross Country (4): 1926, 1927, 1928, 1930 **
Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
(2): 1982, 1986 **Gymnastics (1): 1944 **Soccer (11): 1926, 1929, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1949, 1954, 1955 **Wrestling (1): 1921 *Women’s (11): **Bowling (1): 1979 **Fencing (2): 1980, 1981 **Field Hockey (2): 1980, 1981 **Gymnastics (2): 1978, 1980 **Lacrosse (3): 1978, 1979, 1980 **Rifle (1): 1947 Penn State has won 86 national team championships all time, 52 of which are NCAA championships. These Division I NCAA championships rank in a tie for fourth all-time, trailing only
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
,
Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...
, and
USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...
. Penn State has the most national championships of any Big Ten school. Most of the women's championships prior to 1982 occurred under the auspices of the
Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...
(AIAW); indeed, four women's teams won national championships in 1980 alone. The NCAA did not start sponsoring women's championships until the 1981–82 academic year. Some of the men's championships occurred prior to the NCAA sponsoring a championship in that sport (for example, the NCAA did not start sponsoring a men's soccer championship until 1959) and some sports have never had recognized NCAA championships (such as Division I FBS football). Below are 36 national team titles won by Penn State sports club teams (and Athletics Department "Team Sports") at the highest collegiate level in non-NCAA sports: *Men's (8): **Downriver Canoe/Kayak (2): 2015, 2016 **Golf croquet (1): 2017 **Shotokan karate (5) ''(Kata)'': 2003, 2004, 2007; ''(Kumite)'': 2007, 2013 *Women's (22): **Archery (1) ''(Compound Bow)'': 2010 **Equestrian (1) ''(English)'': 1989 **Shotokan karate (3) ''(Kumite)'': 2001, 2003, 2007 **Rugby (12): 1997, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 **Rugby 7s (4): ''( CRC)'' 2013, 2014, 2015; ''( USA Rugby)'' 2015 **Team Handball (1) : 2018 *Co-ed (6): **Archery (1) ''(Compound Bow)'': 2010 **Cycling (5) ''(Track)'': 1987, 1989, 1990, 2004, 2005


Big Ten championships

Since joining the Big Ten in 1991, Penn State has won 121 total championships.


Big Ten championships

*1992–93 – Women's Volleyball* *1993–94 – Women's Basketball*, Field Hockey, Men's Soccer, Women's Volleyball *1994–95 – Women's Basketball*,
Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
*1995–96 – Baseball *1996–97 – Women's Volleyball* *1997–98 – Field Hockey*, Women's Volleyball* *1998–99 – Field Hockey, Women's Soccer, Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Volleyball *1999–00 – Women's Basketball, Women's Soccer, Women's Volleyball *2000–01 – Women's Soccer *2001–02 – Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming & Diving *2002–03 – Women's Basketball, Men's Gymnastics, Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer *2003–04 – Women's Basketball, Women's Soccer, Women's Indoor Track & Field, Women's Volleyball *2004–05 – Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming & Diving, Women's Volleyball *2005–06 – Field Hockey,
Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
*, Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming & Diving, Women's Volleyball *2006–07 – Women's Soccer, Women's Volleyball *2007–08 – Men's Gymnastics, Women's Soccer, Women's Outdoor Track & Field, Women's Volleyball *2008–09 – Field Hockey,
Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
*, Women's Soccer, Women's Outdoor Track & Field, Women's Volleyball *2009–10 – Women's Cross Country, Women's Soccer, Women's Indoor Track & Field, Women's Outdoor Track & Field, Women's Volleyball *2010–11 – Women's Soccer*, Women's Volleyball *2011–12 – Women's Basketball, Women's Soccer, Wrestling *2012–13 – Women's Basketball, Field Hockey, Men's Soccer*, Women's Soccer, Women's Volleyball *2013–14 – Women's Basketball*, Field Hockey*, Men's Soccer, Women's Indoor Track & Field, Women's Outdoor Track & Field, Women's Volleyball, Wrestling* *2014–15 – Men's Gymnastics, Women's Soccer *2015–16 – Women's Cross Country, Women's Soccer*, Wrestling* *2016–17 –
Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, Women's Soccer*, Wrestling, Women's Indoor Track & Field, Men's Outdoor Track & Field *2017–18 – Women's Volleyball*, Wrestling *2018–19 – Women's Soccer, Wrestling*, Men’s Lacrosse *2019–20 – Men’s Ice Hockey *2020–21 – Wrestling*, Women’s Soccer *2021–22 – Men's Soccer, Wrestling *2022–23 – Field Hockey* * denotes shared regular season conference title


Big Ten tournament championships

*1994–95 – Women's Basketball *1995–96 – Field Hockey, Women's Basketball *1996–97 – Field Hockey *1997–98 – Field Hockey *1998–99 – Field Hockey, Women's Soccer *2000–01 – Women's Soccer *2001–02 – Women's Soccer *2002–03 – Men's Soccer *2005–06 – Men's Soccer *2006–07 – Women's Soccer *2008–09 – Women's Soccer *2010–11 – Wrestling *2011–12 – Field Hockey, Wrestling *2012–13 – Field Hockey, Wrestling *2013–14 – Wrestling *2014–15 – Women's Lacrosse *2015–16 – Women's Soccer, Wrestling *2016–17 – Field Hockey, Men's Ice Hockey *2017–18 – Women's Soccer *2018–19 – Wrestling, Men’s Gymnastics, Men’s Lacrosse *2019–20 – Women's Soccer *2021–22 – Men's Soccer


Atlantic 10 championships

During Penn State's years of membership in the
Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...
(1982–91) and earlier when it was known as the Eastern 8 Conference (1976–79), Penn State won 70 total championships.


Atlantic 10 championships (37)

*1976–77 – Men's Basketball (West)* *1978–79 – Men's Cross Country *1982–83 – Men's Cross Country, Baseball (West) *1983–84 – Men's Golf, Men's Swimming & Diving *1984–85 – Women's Basketball*, Women's Volleyball, Men's Swimming & Diving *1985–86 – Women's Basketball*, Women's Volleyball, Men's Swimming & Diving *1986–87 – Women's Volleyball, Men's Cross Country, Men's Swimming & Diving, Men's Golf *1987–88 – Women's Volleyball, Men's Cross Country, Men's Golf *1988–89 – Women's Volleyball, Field Hockey (West), Men's Cross Country, Men's Soccer (West), Men's Golf *1989–90 – Women's Volleyball, Field Hockey, Men's Cross Country, Men's Soccer (West), Women's Cross Country, Men's Golf *1990–91 – Women's Basketball, Women's Volleyball, Field Hockey, Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Baseball (West), Men's Golf * denotes shared regular season conference/division title


Atlantic 10 Tournament championships (33)

*1978–79 – Men's Tennis *1982–83 – Women's Basketball, Softball, Women's Tennis *1983–84 – Women's Basketball, Women's Volleyball *1984–85 – Women's Basketball, Women's Volleyball, Softball, Women's Tennis *1985–86 – Women's Basketball, Women's Volleyball, Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis *1986–87 – Women's Volleyball, Women's Tennis *1987–88 – Women's Volleyball, Men's Soccer, Softball, Women's Tennis *1988–89 – Women's Volleyball, Men's Soccer, Women's Tennis *1989–90 – Women's Basketball, Women's Volleyball, Men's Soccer, Field Hockey, Women's Tennis *1990–91 – Women's Basketball, Men's Basketball, Women's Volleyball, Field Hockey, Women's Tennis


Other conference championships

Of Penn State's 29 varsity athletic programs, several programs are not sponsored by the Big Ten and have competed in other conferences, now and in the past. Men's Volleyball *
EIVA The Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) is a college athletic conference whose member schools compete in men's volleyball. Its member institutions are located in the Northeast United States. The EIVA Tournament champion receives ...
: 1972, 1976, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2021 Women's Ice Hockey *
College Hockey America College Hockey America (CHA) is a college ice hockey conference in the United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The conference is made up of five women’s teams, with two in Pennsylvania; two in New Y ...
:
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
(regular season) Wrestling *
Eastern Wrestling League The Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) was an NCAA Division I wrestling-only conference. It was made up mostly of schools from the northeastern United States whose primary conferences did not sponsor wrestling as an NCAA-qualifying event. The teams ha ...
(member 1975–1992) :Team Dual Meet Champions:1976, 1977, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986* (tie), 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992 :Tournament Champions: 1976, 1977, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992


Olympians

Athletes (129) and coaches/faculty members (12) from Penn State have won 17 gold medals, 15 silver medals, and 28 bronze medals. The University had its most representatives participating in the
2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
with 21 participants earning eight medals, also the most ever. Five former Penn State student-athletes earned medals in the
2012 London Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. Women's volleyball stars
Megan Hodge Megan Hodge Easy (born October 15, 1988) is an American indoor volleyball player who won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics with the US team and played for Pennsylvania State University's volleyball team. Currently, she plays in Brazilian ...
and
Christa Harmotto Christa Deanne Harmotto Dietzen (born October 12, 1986) is an American former professional volleyball player who played as a middle blocker for the United States women's national volleyball team. She played college volleyball for the Penn State ...
earned silver medals after falling to Brazil in the gold-medal match. Additionally, women's soccer players
Erin McLeod Erin Katrina McLeod (born February 26, 1983) is a Canadian soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Stjarnan of the Icelandic Besta deild kvenna. She first appeared for the Canada women's national soccer team at the 2002 Algarve Cup and ...
and Carmelina Moscato came home with bronze medals playing for the
Canada women's national soccer team The Canada women's national soccer team (french: Équipe du Canada féminine de soccer) represents Canada in international soccer competitions. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Canada. The ...
. Finally,
Natalie Dell Natalie Dell O'Brien (born February 20, 1985), formerly known as Natalie Dell, is an American female crew rower. She won the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the quadruple sculls event. Natalie won a silver medal at the 2011 ...
earned Penn State's first rowing medal with her bronze-medal performance in the women's quadruple sculls. Penn State sent 19 participants to the 2012 Summer Games, a school record at the time.


Facilities

The football team plays in Beaver Stadium. The men's and women's basketball teams play in the
Bryce Jordan Center The Bryce Jordan Center is a 15,261-seat multi-purpose arena in University Park, Pennsylvania, United States, on the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University. The arena opened in 1996 and is the largest such venue between ...
. Most of the other indoor teams play at
Rec Hall Recreation Building, or Rec Hall as it is more commonly known, is a field house located on the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University. It was opened on January 15, 1929, and is still in use. Previously, Penn State's indoor s ...
, which was previously the long term home for the basketball teams as well. The school also is home to the Ashenfelter Multi-Sport Facility for indoor track. Other indoor facilities include Lasch Building & Holuba Hall for football; White Building houses gymnastics & fencing; and the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex is within Rec Hall. A new
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
stadium named
Medlar Field at Lubrano Park Medlar Field at Lubrano Park is a 5,570-seat baseball stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, that hosted its first regular season baseball game on June 20, 2006, when the State College Spikes lost to the Williamsport Crosscutters, 5–3. The Pe ...
opened in June 2006. The stadium is host to both the University baseball team as well as the State College Spikes, a
minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...
baseball team. The ballpark is oriented towards the east, offering a view of
Mount Nittany Mount Nittany is the common name for Nittany Mountain, a prominent geographic feature in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. The mountain is part of a ridge that separates Nittany Valley from Penns Valley, with the enclosed Sugar Valley be ...
. The softball team plays at its new home, the Nittany Lion Softball Park, which opened in 2011.
Jeffrey Field Jeffrey Field is an outdoor college soccer stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, United States, on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. It has been home to Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer and Penn State Nittany Lions women's soc ...
is home to the soccer program. The lacrosse teams play at the Penn State Lacrosse Field which opened in 2012 next to the Ashenfelter Multi-Sport Facility. The hockey teams both play at the
Pegula Ice Arena The Pegula Ice Arena is a 6,014-seat multi-purpose arena in University Park, Pennsylvania on the campus of Penn State University. The facility is located on the corner of Curtin Road and University Drive near the Bryce Jordan Center. The arena is ...
. The field hockey team plays at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex which is located adjacent to Bigler Field, and opened in 2005. Additionally, the university operates the
Penn State Golf Courses The Penn State Golf Courses are two 18-hole courses located in State College, Pennsylvania, US, operated by The Pennsylvania State University. The individual 18-hole courses are named after the school colors (blue and white). They, along with the ...
, two courses for the golf teams, students, faculty, and the general public. The Intercollegiate Athletics Department operates the
Stone Valley Recreation Area Stone Valley Recreation Area is an outdoor recreational and educational facility operated by Pennsylvania State University. It is located in Huntingdon County near the village of Mooresville. The property is located over the mountain from the v ...
, approximately twenty miles southeast of State College.


Penn State All-Sports Museum

The Penn State All-Sports Museum, a museum honoring all Penn State Nittany Lion athletes, is located near Gate B of Beaver Stadium. The upper level of the museum is dedicated to Penn State basketball and other indoor sports, while the lower level of the museum is dedicated to outdoor sports. The
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
exhibit on the lower level features a
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
—won by John Cappelletti—and a collection of several other trophies and awards, in addition to honoring the Penn State football team, the Penn State Blue Band, Penn State
Cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...
, and the
student athlete A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...
s who have portrayed the Nittany Lion mascot. The museum opened in February 2002.


See also

*
List of college athletic programs in Pennsylvania This is a list of college athletics programs in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Notes: *This list is in a tabular format, with columns arranged in the following order, from left to right: **Athletic team description (short school name and nickname ...
*
Lacrosse in Pennsylvania Lacrosse has been played in Pennsylvania since the 19th century. There are many respected amateur programs at the club, college, and high school level, as well as several respected past and present professional teams in the National Lacrosse League ...


References


External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle={{CollegePrimaryStyle, Penn State Nittany Lions, color=white , list= {{Big Ten Conference navbox {{Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association navbox {{College Hockey America {{Pennsylvania Sports