Penn State Nittany Lions football
Coach Years Seasons Record Pct
No coach 1887-1891 5 12-8-1 .595
George Hoskins 1892-1895 4 17-4-4 .760
Samuel Newton 1896-1898 3 12-14-0 .462
Sam Boyle 1899 1 4-6-1 .409
Pop Golden 1900-1902 3 16-12-1 .569
Daniel A. Reed 1903 1 5-3-0 .625
Tom Fennell 1904-1908 5 33-17-1 .657
Bill Hollenback 1909 , 1911-1914 5 28-9-4 .732
Jack Hollenback 1910 1 5-2-1 .688
Dick Harlow 1915-1917 3 20-8-0 .714
Hugo Bezdek 1918-1929 12 65-30-11 .665
Bob Higgins 1930-1948 19 91-57-11 .607
Joe Bedenk 1949 1 5-4-0 .556
Rip Engle 1950-1965 16 104-48-4 .679
Joe Paterno 1966-2011 45 409-136-3 .749
Tom Bradley 2011 < 1 1-3 .250
Bill O'Brien 2012-2013 2 15-9 .625
James Franklin 2014- present 6th season 56-23 .709
Head coaches
Main article : List of Penn State Nittany Lions head football coaches James Franklin is the head coach of Penn State since the 2014 season . [ 59 ]
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 48 appearances in college bowl games, with a postseason bowl record of 30-18-2. The team is also #9 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 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The team is currently coached by James Franklin.