Penn Quakers football
| Penn Quakers football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1876 | ||
| Head coach |
Ray Priore 2nd season, 14–6 (.700) | ||
| Stadium |
Franklin Field (Capacity: 52,593) | ||
| Year built | 1895 | ||
| Field surface | SprinTurf | ||
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
| Conference | Ivy League | ||
| Past conferences | Independent (1876–1956) | ||
| All-time record | 839–485–42 (.630) | ||
| Bowl record | 0–1–0 (.000) | ||
| Claimed nat'l titles | Div. I FCS: 7[1] | ||
| Conference titles | 18 | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | 63 | ||
| Colors |
Blue and Red[2] | ||
| Fight song | Fight on, Pennsylvania! | ||
| Mascot | The Penn Quaker | ||
| Marching band | The University of Pennsylvania Band | ||
| Website | pennathletics.com | ||
The Penn Quakers football team is the college football team at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Penn Quakers have competed in the Ivy League since its inaugural season of 1956, and are currently a Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Penn has played in 1,364 football games, the most of any school in any division. Penn plays its home games at historic Franklin Field, the oldest stadium in football. All Penn games are broadcast on WNTP or WFIL radio.
Overall history
Penn bills itself as "college football's most historic program".[3] The Quakers have had 63 First Team All-Americans, and the college is the alma mater of John Heisman (the namesake of college football's most famous trophy). The team has won a share of 7 national championships (7th all-time) and competed in the "granddaddy of them all" (The Rose Bowl) in 1917. Penn's total of 837 wins puts them 11th all-time in college football (3rd in the FCS) and their winning percentage of 62.9% is 21st in college football (7th in the FCS). 18 members of the College Football Hall of Fame played at Penn (tied with Alabama for 14th) and 5 members of the College Football Hall of Fame coached at Penn. Penn has had 11 unbeaten seasons. Penn plays at the oldest stadium in college football, Franklin Field, at which they have had a 35-game home winning streak (1896–1899), which is the 15th best in the country, and at which they have had 23 unbeaten home seasons. Penn is one of the few college football teams to have had an exclusive contract with a network for broadcasting all their home games. For the 1950 season, ABC Sports broadcast all of Penn's home games. The only other teams to have exclusive contracts are Miami and Notre Dame. The Quakers competed as a major independent until 1956, when they accepted the invitation to join the Ivy League.
NCAA television controversy
Ivy League
Penn joined the Ivy League in 1956 when it was formed. Penn won its 1st Ivy League Football Championship in 1959. It was not until 1982, 23 years later, that Penn would win its 2nd Ivy League Football Championship. Since that year Penn has become a dominant football power in the Ivy League. They are tied with Dartmouth in winning a record 18 Ivy League Football Championships. Penn, however, is first in outright Ivy League titles (13), and first in undefeated Ivy League titles (8).
NCAA records
NCAA record for most college football games played – 1,364.
NCAA record for consecutive overtime losses – 3 games[4]
Ivy League records
Most outright Ivy League titles – 13 (1959, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012) ;
Highest number of unbeaten Ivy League seasons – 8 (1984, 1986, 1993, 1994, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010);
Longest Ivy League winning streak – 20 straight games (2001–2004). Penn also holds the next two Longest Ivy League win streaks. (18 straight games – 2008–2011) and (17 straight games – 1992–1995).
Record 18 Ivy League Football Championships. Tied with Dartmouth.
Franklin Field
Penn's home stadium Franklin Field is not only the oldest stadium in football but holds many other records as well. It is the site of the oldest stadium scoreboard (1895), the "original horseshoe" (1903), the first college football radio broadcast (1922 on WIP), the first double-decker football stadium (1925), the largest stadium in the country (1925 to 1926), the first college football television broadcast (1940 on KYW-TV) and the first FCS stadium to host ESPN's College Gameday (2002).
Championships
National championships
| Year | Coach | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1894 | George Woodruff | 12–0 |
| 1895 | George Woodruff | 14–0 |
| 1897 | George Woodruff | 15–0 |
| 1904 | Carl "Cap" Williams | 12–0 |
| 1907 | Carl "Cap" Williams | 11–1 |
| 1908 | Sol Metzger | 11–0–1 |
| 1924 | Lou Young | 9–1–1 |
Conference championships
| Year | Coach | Overall record | Conference record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Steve Sebo | 7–1–1 | 6–1 |
| 1982 | Jerry Berndt | 7–3 | 5–2 (shared title) |
| 1983 | Jerry Berndt | 6–3–1 | 5–1–1 (shared title) |
| 1984 | Jerry Berndt | 8–1 | 7–0 |
| 1985 | Jerry Berndt | 7–2–1 | 6–1 |
| 1986 | Ed Zubrow | 10–0 | 7–0 |
| 1988 | Ed Zubrow | 9–1 | 6–1 (shared title) |
| 1993 | Al Bagnoli | 10–0 | 7–0 |
| 1994 | Al Bagnoli | 9–0 | 7–0 |
| 1998 | Al Bagnoli | 8–2 | 6–1 |
| 2000 | Al Bagnoli | 7–3 | 6–1 |
| 2002 | Al Bagnoli | 9–1 | 7–0 |
| 2003 | Al Bagnoli | 10–0 | 7–0 |
| 2009 | Al Bagnoli | 8–2 | 7–0 |
| 2010 | Al Bagnoli | 9–1 | 7–0 |
| 2012 | Al Bagnoli | 6–4 | 6–1 |
| 2015 | Ray Priore | 7–3 | 6–1 (shared title) |
| 2016 | Ray Priore | 7–3 | 6–1 (shared title) |
Penn in the AP Poll
| Year | Final AP Poll ranking |
|---|---|
| 1936 | 10 |
| 1940 | 14 |
| 1941 | 15 |
| 1943 | 20 |
| 1945 | 8 |
| 1946 | 13 |
| 1947 | 7 |
Bowl games
| Season | Date | Bowl | Location | Result | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1916–17 | January 1 | Rose Bowl Game | Pasadena, California | L 0–14 | Oregon |
Individual players
Notable Quaker players
- Reds Bagnell – 1950 Maxwell Award winner, All-American, runner up for the Heisman Trophy, College Football Hall of Fame
- Chuck Bednarik – namesake of the Chuck Bednarik Award, 1948 Maxwell Award winner, Pro Football Hall of Fame, College Football Hall of Fame
- Bert Bell – former NFL commissioner, founder, owner & coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pro Football Hall of Fame
- George H. Brooke – Twice All-America, College football Hall of Fame.
- Truxton Hare – Consensus All-American every year he played, College Football Hall of Fame, winner of silver medal in the hammer throw at the 1900 Summer Olympics
- Jim Finn – 1999, New York Giants starting full back in Super Bowl XLII
- John Heisman – namesake of the Heisman Trophy, College Football Hall of Fame
- Alden Knipe – All-America, led team to 1894 national championship.
- Leroy Mercer- All-America, College Football Hall of Fame, Olympic athlete
- Skip Minisi – first-round NFL draft pick, College Football Hall of Fame
- Bob Odell – 1943 Maxwell Award winner, College Football Hall of Fame
- John H. Outland – namesake of the Outland Trophy, College Football Hall of Fame
Individual award winners
Penn's total of three major award winners surpasses several BCS programs to this day. George Savitsky The only 4 time all- American in college football history
- Ivy League Coach of the Year
- Jerry Berndt – 1984
- Ray Priore – 2015
College Football Hall of Fame
Eighteen former players have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.[5]
Quakers in the NFL Draft
A total of 51 players from Penn have been drafted in the NFL, including NFL Hall of Famers Chuck Bednarik (#1 overall pick in 1949) and Bert Bell (1963) and NFL first-round pick Skip Minisi.
Notable games
Penn 30, Navy 26
On October 18, 1986, Penn defeated Navy 30–26 in front of Navy's Homecoming crowd. Penn finished the season undefeated at 10–0, 6–0 in the Ivy League for their 5th straight Ivy League title.[6]
Penn 35, Harvard 25
On November 14, 2015, Penn defeated 12th ranked Harvard 35–25 at Harvard Stadium. This win ended Harvard's 22-game winning streak; their first loss since October 26, 2013.[7] With this win, Penn improved to 6–3, 5–1 in the Ivy League, and with a 34–21 win in their next and final game against Cornell, were able to clinch a share of the Ivy League title along with Harvard and Dartmouth. The title capped a remarkable comeback season for Penn. After back-to-back losing seasons in 2013 and 2014, Penn started the 2015 season at 1–3, including a loss in their Ivy League opener, but rallied with 6 straight wins to end the season.
Penn 27, Harvard 14
On November 11, 2016, Penn defeated 22nd ranked Harvard at Franklin Field. This win ended Harvard's Ivy record 13-game Ivy road game win streak. [8] With this win, Penn improved to 6–3, 5–1 in the Ivy League, and into a three-way tie atop the Ivy League alongside Harvard and Princeton. Penn scored two touchdowns in the game's final 17 seconds, headlined by an 80-yard touchdown drive engineered by quarterback Alek Torgersen. A 42–20 victory the next week against Cornell gave Penn a share of the 2016 Ivy League title, making them back-to-back champions for the first time since 2009–2010. A Harvard loss to Yale in "The Game" the next week dropped the Crimson out of title contention.
References
- ↑ "2011 Fact Book Penn Football" (PDF). Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Logo & Branding Standards". University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
- ↑ http://www.pennathletics.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=1700&SPID=537&SPSID=8576
- ↑ Caldwell, Dave. "Penn Loses in Overtime for 3rd Game in a Row". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-09-16.
- ↑ See: Penn Quakers#Football.
- ↑ http://www.totalfootballstats.com/Team_College.asp?id=204&Season=1986
- ↑ http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=400799624
- ↑ http://harvardmagazine.com/2016/11/football-2016-harvard-penn