Penn State Nittany Lions
University	Pennsylvania State University
Conference	Big Ten (primary) Atlantic Hockey America (women's ice hockey) EIVA (men's volleyball)
NCAA	Division I (FBS)
Athletic director	Patrick Kraft
Location	State College, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Varsity teams	31
Football stadium	Beaver Stadium
Basketball arena	Bryce Jordan Center
Ice hockey arena	Pegula Ice Arena
Baseball stadium	Medlar Field at Lubrano Park
Softball stadium	Nittany Lion Softball Park
Soccer stadium	Jeffrey Field
Aquatics center	McCoy Natatorium
Lacrosse stadium	Panzer Stadium
Other venues	Holuba Hall Lorenzo Wrestling Complex Louis and Mildred Lasch Football Building Multi-Sport Facility & Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track Penn State Field Hockey Complex Penn State Golf Courses Rec Hall Sarni Tennis Center
Mascot	Nittany Lion
Nickname	Nittany Lions and Lady Lions
Fight song	Fight On, State
Colors	Blue and white[1]
Website	www.gopsusports.com

The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white.^[2] The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The intercollegiate athletics logo was commissioned in 1983.^[3]

For most sports, Penn State participates as a member institution of the Big Ten Conference and NCAA Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the highest level of collegiate level play. 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, men's volleyball and women's ice hockey, participate in different conferences because they are not offered in the Big Ten Conference. The men's volleyball team competes in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) and women's ice hockey competes in Atlantic Hockey America (AHA). The fencing teams operate as independents.

Penn State has finished in the top 25 in every NACDA Directors' Cup final poll, a feat only matched by nine other institutions: Stanford, UCLA, USC, Florida, Ohio State, Texas, North Carolina, and Michigan.^[4] The NACDA Director's Cup is a list compiled by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics 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.^[5] 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.^[6]

Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1991, after being a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference from 1976-79 and 1982-91.

Sports

Baseball

Penn State baseball currently plays their home games at 5,570-seat Medlar Field and have been coached by Mike Gambino since the 2024 season. Since joining the Big Ten, the Nittany Lions won the 1996 regular season title and advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship game twice, most recently in 2024.

Throughout its history, Penn State has played in 17 NCAA baseball tournaments, advancing to the College World Series five times (1952, 1957 1959, 1963, 1973) and finishing as runners-up to California in 1957. Penn State's most recent College World Series appearance came in 1973, while its most recent NCAA tournament berth came in 2000, when the Nittany Lions won the Montclair Regional before falling in the Austin Super Regional.

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 in the round of 32. The most recent postseason championship for Penn State was the 2018 National Invitation Tournament 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 Tournament in 1991.^[7] The Nittany Lions lost in the first round of the 2011 NCAA tournament^[8] and appeared in the 2023 NCAA tournament, falling to the Texas Longhorns in the second round.

Notable alumni include: Frank Brickowski, John Amaechi, Calvin Booth, Mike Costello, Stanley Pringle, Geary Claxton, Jamelle Cornley, Lamar Stevens. Mike Rhodes is the current coach.

Women's basketball

The Lady Lions, 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 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. 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 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.^[9]

Fencing

Penn State has been a fencing powerhouse, having won a record 13 national championships 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.^[10] The program won six consecutive NCAA Championships from 1995 to 2000.^[10]

Emmanuil G. Kaidanov was the coach of the fencing squads during most of that period. The women's fencing team won national AIAW 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 for three years, prompting Penn State to terminate him in 2019.^[11] 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.^[12] The woman who was the object of the misconduct sued Penn State in 2020, charging that it had tried to cover up the incident.^[13]

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.^[14][15] 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.^[16][17] 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 into the same matter, he was ultimately required to serve a six-month term of probation for such failure.^[17][18][19]

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 Tournament appearances, the third most in the nation.^[20] 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.

In 2007, the women's Field Hockey team reached the National Championship game, but fell to undefeated UNC, 3–0. In their tournament run, they were able to defeat two-time defending champion Maryland, 1–0, and defending national runner-up Wake Forest, 2–0. Jen Long was nominated for the Honda Award 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 by a score of 42–13. The school has earned a reputation as "Linebacker U" for the number of high-quality linebackers trained.^[21] 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.^[22] 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 and the Land Grant Trophy game versus Michigan State University.

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, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Maryland, and Alabama. 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 in 1982 and 1986, both under Paterno. The 1986 team won by defeating the University of Miami in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, which remains one of the most watched college football games 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 by various selecting organizations. Penn State currently has a FBS bowl record of 31–20–2.

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 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 37 of the 41 times the championship game has been played.^[23]

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$63 million.^[24]

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 team won their NCAA record 14th national championship, by defeating powerhouse Oklahoma at Rec Hall, with the score of 221.000–220.200, denying them a three-peat. 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.^[25] The team plays in the Pegula Ice Arena^{[26][27][28][29]} 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 team, the Icers, competed at the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Men's Division I level and was a member of the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (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.^[30]

Women's ice hockey

The women's program moved to NCAA Division I level beginning in the 2012–13 season^[31] and joined College Hockey America (CHA), becoming the fifth member of the conference.^[32] After the 2023–24 season, CHA merged with the Atlantic Hockey Association to form Atlantic Hockey America.^[33] The team also plays in the Pegula Ice Arena.^[26][27]

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 (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^[34] inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, including Mary McCarthy Stefano, Gillian D. Rattray, Barb Jordan, Betsy Williams Dougherty, Candace "Candy" Finn Rocha, Joanne Connelly and Thomas R. Hayes.

Soccer

Men's soccer

Before the NCAA began its tournament in 1959, the annual national champion was declared by the Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association 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.

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.^[35]

Volleyball

Penn State is home to one of the top men's and women's volleyball 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, and Long Beach State.

Men's volleyball

The men's volleyball team is coached by Mark Pavlik. The program has won two NCAA National Championships in 1994 and 2008 and 16 EIVA 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 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 24-year history until then to win an NCAA Men's volleyball championship. They won the NCAA title again in 2008, defeating Pepperdine, 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 "National Coach of the Year" by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Penn_State_Nittany_Lions_track_and_field
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