The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. The Nittany Lions compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference, which they joined in 1993 after playing as an Independent from 1892 to 1992.
Established in 1887, the Nittany Lions have achieved numerous on-field successes, the most notable of which include two consensus national championships (1982 and 1986), four Big Ten Conference Championships (in 1994, 2005, 2008, and 2016), 13 undefeated seasons (1887, 1894, 1909, 1911, 1912, 1920, 1921, 1947, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1986 and 1994) and 52 appearances in college bowl games, with a postseason bowl record of 31–19–2. The team is also #7 in all-time total wins. The Nittany Lions play their home games at Beaver Stadium, located on-campus in University Park, Pennsylvania. With an official seating capacity of 106,572, Beaver Stadium is the second-largest stadium in the western hemisphere, behind only Michigan Stadium. The team is coached by James Franklin.
History
Early history (1887–1949)
The first recorded game in Penn State football history occurred on November 12, 1881, when Penn State traveled to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania to play Bucknell, known until 1886 as the University at Lewisburg. Penn State won 9–0, which was nine goals to none. At the time, this was really a game of "American rugby." The father of American football, Walter Camp, did not develop the "scrimmage", the "first down" and the "gridiron" (yard markings) until 1882. Although this game was reported in two State College newspapers and the Mirror (University at Lewisburg campus newspaper), Bucknell denies that this game ever happened. Penn State did not field teams from 1882 through 1886. Penn State played its first season in 1887, but had no head coach for their first five years, from 1887 to 1891. The teams played its home games on the Old Main lawn on campus in State College, Pennsylvania. They compiled a 12–8–1 record in these seasons, playing as an independent from 1887 to 1890. In 1891, the Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Football Association (PIFA) was formed. It consisted of Bucknell (University at Lewisburg), Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Haverford, Penn State and Swarthmore. Lafayette and Lehigh were excluded because it was felt they would dominate the Association. Penn State won the championship with a 4–1–0 record. Bucknell's record was 3–1–1 (losing to Franklin & Marshall and tying Dickinson). The Association was dissolved prior to the 1892 season.
George W. Hoskins was the first head football coach at Penn State. He posted a 17–4–4 record in his from 1892 to 1895 as head coach, and his .760 winning percentage ranks highest in program history. His first team played its home game on the Old Main lawn on campus in State College, Pennsylvania, before the 500-seat Beaver Field opened in 1893. He was succeeded by Samuel B. Newton, who posted a 12–14 (.462) record in three seasons, 1896–1898. Sam Boyle coached for only one year in 1899 and compiled a 4–6–1 record (.409). Pop Golden coached the Nittany Lions for three seasons from 1900 to 1902, tallying a record of 16–12–1 (.569). Daniel A. Reed took over for the 1903 season and went 5–3 (.625).
Tom Fennell coached the Nittany Lions for five seasons from 1904 to 1908, posting a 33–17–1 (.657) record. In 1907 the school adopted the Nittany Lion mascot, a mountain lion named after nearby Mount Nittany. An early mascot was "Old Coaly", a mule that hauled stone for the original Old Main (completed in 1863 and demolished in 1929). Bill Hollenback took over the Nittany Lions as head coach for the 1909 season and went undefeated at 5–0–2, but left for Missouri for 1910. Bill's older brother Jack Hollenback took over for the 1910 season and went 5–2–1 (.688), but Bill returned to Penn State from 1911 to 1914. Bill went 23–9–2 in his second tenure for a combined record of 28–9–4 (.732). In 1911 and 1912, his teams went 8–0–1 and 8–0 and were awarded retroactive national championships by the National Championship Foundation which are recognized by the NCAA. Head coach Dick Harlow brought a new form of defense, trying to go in-between or around offensive blockers rather than try to overpower them. Harlow's Nittany Lions compiled a 20–8 (.714) record in his three seasons (1915–1917) and was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach for his accomplishments.