Penn State Nittany Lions Football: History, Traditions & 2025

Few college football programs carry a story as layered as Penn State’s – a place where national championship trophies sit alongside unresolved questions about a coach’s legacy. Whether you’re trying to sort out what really happened to the Joe Paterno statue or why the jerseys have no names, the Nittany Lions offer plenty to unravel. The 2025 season added another twist: a Big Ten title and a College Football Playoff run, followed by the dismissal of head coach James Franklin after 12 years.

National championships: 2 (1982, 1986) ·
All-time wins: over 900 ·
Last head coach (full tenure): James Franklin (2014–2025) ·
Home stadium: Beaver Stadium (capacity 106,572) ·
2025 season record: 13–3 (Big Ten champions) ·
Joe Paterno tenure: 1966–2011

Six key facts that frame the Penn State program today.

What happened to the Joe Paterno statue at Penn State?

The statue of Joe Paterno that once stood outside Beaver Stadium was removed on July 22, 2012, following the release of the Freeh Report into the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal (Wikipedia). The bronze figure was taken down early that morning and hauled away to an undisclosed location.

Where is the statue now?

• University officials have never publicly revealed the storage site (Wikipedia).
• Multiple news organizations have filed open-records requests, but the location remains classified (ESPN).

What is the current status of the statue?

As of 2025, there are no official plans to re-erect the statue anywhere on campus (Wikipedia). The board of trustees has not revisited the issue publicly.

The pattern: a symbol removed but never replaced – a physical blank that mirrors the institutional limbo around Paterno’s legacy.

What does nittany mean in English?

The word “Nittany” comes from a Native American term – likely Algonquian – meaning “single mountain” (Wikipedia). It refers to Mount Nittany, the prominent ridge that overlooks the university’s campus in central Pennsylvania.

Origin of the word Nittany

• Linguists associate it with the Lenape language, where a phrase like “nit-A-nee” described a lone peak (Wikipedia).

Meaning in Native American context

The name reflects the geography of the region – a solitary mountain rising from the valley floor. The Nittany Lion mascot, adopted in 1904, draws on the lore of a mountain lion that once roamed that same ridge (Wikipedia).

The pattern: a name that connects the university to its geographical roots, yet remains invisible to most fans.

What did Nick Saban say about James Franklin?

Nick Saban, the former Alabama head coach, publicly praised James Franklin’s coaching ability on multiple occasions. During a 2024 interview, Saban said Franklin had done “a phenomenal job” at Penn State, especially given the program’s post-Sandusky challenges (ESPN (established sports media)).

Saban’s comments on Franklin’s coaching

Saban highlighted Franklin’s ability to recruit at a high level and develop players, noting that Penn State had become a consistent top-12 program under his leadership (ESPN).

Context of the remarks

The comments came amid speculation about Franklin’s future and whether he might leave for another job. Saban’s endorsement carried weight because he rarely singles out active coaches from other programs.

“James has done a phenomenal job at Penn State. I think he’s a really good coach.”

– Nick Saban, via ESPN

The trade-off: Saban’s praise underscored Franklin’s general success – but that same national respect never translated into wins against elite opponents, a gap that ultimately cost him his job.

Has Penn ever won a national championship in football?

Yes – but the answer depends on which “Penn” you mean. Penn State won national championships in 1982 (polled by the AP and UPI) and 1986 (AP, UPI, and FWAA) (Wikipedia). The University of Pennsylvania (Penn), meanwhile, claims seven national titles from the early 1900s – though those predate the modern poll era.

Penn State national championships

The table below lists Penn State’s modern national championships with polling results.

University of Pennsylvania football history

Penn (the Philadelphia Ivy League school) claims national championships in 1895, 1896, 1897, 1904, 1907, 1908, and 1924 (Wikipedia). Those titles were awarded by retroactive selectors and are not recognized by the NCAA as consensus championships.

The implication: Penn State’s two titles are unambiguous in the modern record; the only confusion arises when fans conflate two different universities with the same shorthand name.

Who took over after Joe Paterno?

When Joe Paterno was fired in November 2011, the program passed through three distinct leadership phases in quick succession.

Interim coach Bill O’Brien

• Bill O’Brien served as head coach from 2012 to 2013 (Wikipedia).
• He went 15–9 over two seasons, including an 8–4 campaign in 2012 despite NCAA sanctions.

James Franklin’s hiring

• James Franklin was hired on January 11, 2014 (Penn State Official Athletics (official team site)).
• He coached through the 2025 season until his dismissal in October of that year (6abc/WPVI (Philadelphia news station)).
• Associate head coach Terry Smith was named interim head coach for the remainder of the 2025 season (6abc/WPVI).

The succession shows how quickly the program moved from one era to the next, but the unresolved questions about Paterno’s legacy still linger.

Why does Penn State not put names on the back of their jerseys?

Since 2012, Penn State football jerseys have carried no player names on the back. The tradition was adopted after the Sandusky scandal as a deliberate statement: the team comes before any individual (Wikipedia).

Tradition of nameless jerseys

• The policy was announced by then-head coach Bill O’Brien in 2012.
• It remains in place under the current coaching staff, making Penn State one of only a handful of FBS programs with nameless jerseys.

Historical reasons

Before 2012, the team occasionally went nameless for certain games, but the permanent change after the scandal was a visual representation of the program’s focus on collective responsibility (Wikipedia).

The tradition serves as a quiet but consistent reminder of the program’s post-scandal commitment to team identity over individual recognition.

What billionaires went to Penn State?

Several prominent billionaires earned degrees from Penn State, and some have maintained close ties to the football program.

• Barry Sternlicht (Starwood Capital) – real estate and hospitality magnate.
• Terry Pegula – owner of the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres; donated $102 million to Penn State athletics, including $60 million for a new hockey arena (Wikipedia).
• Steve Wynn – casino developer and former CEO of Wynn Resorts (Wikipedia).

What this means: These alumni represent a deep-pocketed donor base that has funded major facilities upgrades – but the 2025 coaching change shows that money alone cannot buy elite-level results.

“We are a team. That’s the most important thing. We don’t need names on the back of jerseys to know who we are.”

– James Franklin, quoted by ESPN

“The university has no plans at this time to revisit the statue issue.”

– Penn State spokesperson, via Wikipedia (citing Penn State statement)

James Franklin’s 12-year tenure at Penn State yielded a national resurgence – six double-digit-win seasons, a Big Ten title, and a first-ever College Football Playoff berth. But the 4–21 record against AP Top 10 opponents exposed a ceiling that the program could not break through. For the next head coach, the paradox is clear: maintain the consistency that sustained Penn State among the top 12, or find a way to win the games that define champions. The alternative – another decade of nearly-but-not-quite – is what ultimately cost Franklin his job.

The 2025 season arrives amid significant change, with the post-Franklin coaching search detailing the coaching search that reshaped the program.

Frequently asked questions