Penn Quakers football
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The Penn Quakers football program is the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Penn’s first game was in 1876, and the team has played in 1,413 football games, the most of any school in any division. Penn plays its home games at historic Franklin Field, the oldest football stadium in the nation. All Penn games are broadcast on WNTP or WFIL radio.
Overall historyPenn bills itself as "college football's most historic program". Before the start of the 2020 season, the Ivy League announced that no sports would be played until January 1, 2021, at the earliest, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The League resumed in September 2021.[5] NCAA television controversyIn 1951, the NCAA attempted to stop any live broadcast of college football games during the season, which affected Penn due to them being one of only two colleges to enact this practice (the other being Notre Dame). After public outcry, the NCAA restricted the number of games televised for each team. Penn attempted to circumvent the rules through its contract, but they had to back down due to the NCAA's threat of possibly expelling the Quakers from the association. Ivy LeaguePenn 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). ChampionshipsNational championshipsPenn has been named national champions seven times by NCAA major selectors, and claims all seven championships.[6] The Billingsley Report named the 1907 Quakers national champions under Billingsley's original formula. Updated Billingsley rankings no longer name Penn national champions in 1907, but Penn continues to claim the championship.[7]
Conference championshipsPenn has won 18 conference championships (all of which in the Ivy League), winning 13 outright and five shared.[8]
† Co-champions NCAA recordsNCAA record for most college football games played – 1,413. Ivy League recordsMost outright Ivy League titles – 13 (1959, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012) ; Franklin FieldPenn'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 College Gameday (2002).[citation needed ]
Penn in the AP Poll]
Bowl gamesPenn has participated in one bowl game, garnering a record of 0–1.
Rivalries
CornellThe series with Cornell dates to 1876. Penn leads the series 73–46–5 through the 2017 season.[10] HarvardThe series with Harvard dates to 1881. Harvard leads the series 48–38–2 through the 2017 season.[10] PrincetonThe series with Princeton dates to 1876. Princeton leads the series 66–42–1 through the 2017 season.[10] Individual playersNotable Quaker players
Individual award winnersPenn's total of three major award winners surpasses several BCS programs to this day.
College Football Hall of FameEighteen former players have been inducted into the better source needed ]
Quakers in the NFL DraftA total of 51 players from Penn have been drafted in the NFL[12] including NFL Hall of Famers Chuck Bednarik (#1 overall pick in 1949) and NFL first-round pick Skip Minisi. Notable gamesOn October 18, 1986, Penn defeated Navy 30–0 in front of Navy's Homecoming crowd. Penn finished the season undefeated at 10–0, 7–0 in the Ivy League for their 5th straight Ivy League title.[13] Penn 35, Harvard 25On 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.[14] 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 14On 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.[15] 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 and a last second scoop and score by Tayler Hendrickson. 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. Penn 23, Harvard 21On November 13, 1982, Penn defeated Harvard with no time left on the game clock at Franklin Field. This win clinched a share of the Ivy football title for Penn. While Penn led 20–0 with nine minutes to play, Harvard scored three touchdowns in just eight minutes. However the Quarterback Gary Vura, starting at his own 20-yard line with just a minute and 24 seconds left, marched his team down the field, setting up a field goal attempt by kicker Dave Shulman. Shulman's 38-yard attempt was tipped by a Harvard player and went wide left. But Harvard was called for roughing the kicker. Since a game cannot end on a potential decision-changing defensive penalty, Shulman kicked again, this time from the 11-yard line and his 27-yard field goal was good.[16] Although the Quakers did lose the following weekend to Cornell, their victory that day, after three losing seasons of 0–9, 1–9 and 1–9, gave Penn a share of the Ivy title for the first time since 1959, which had been its only Ivy title. It also marked the turning point in Penn's Ivy football play, with the Quakers winning or sharing another 16 Ivy titles during the 35 years since then. References
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