National Champions

Championships Claimed by PSU—

1982 & 1986 under Joe Paterno

1982 Penn State 11-1 (#2 PSU 27-23 over #1 Georgia in 1983 Sugar Bowl)

1986 Penn State 12-0 (#2 PSU 14-10 over #1 Miami in 1987 Fiesta Bowl)

These are the only two National Championships in football “officially” claimed by Penn State even though they are not the first, nor the only ones, recognized by the NCAA that have been “awarded” to PSU. The primary reason for claiming these two titles is the fact that they are the only ones in recent PSU history to have been “won on the field in a top 2 bowl matchup” and then conclude with the #1 ranking in the two major news wire service polls (Associated Press & UPI Coaches). The Nittany Lions received the travelling AP Trophy (aka Bryant Trophy through 1989) in both ‘82 & ‘86. PSU also received the UPI Trophy those same two seasons—it was known as the UPI Cup in ‘82 and the Coaches Trophy in ‘86 (see photo above).

Penn State’s 1982 team (11-1) was, in fact, voted #1 by 19 different ranking agencies including AP & UPI—some well-known and some not so well-known (Sporting News, National Football Foundation, Football News, Dunkel, NY Times, NCF, etc.). The undefeated 1986 team (12-0) was voted #1 by 12 recognized ratings groups, but not by all of the same ones that placed the 1982 team atop their final rankings (for example: Dunkel & the New York Times).

The AP poll officially began in the 1936 season (although a poll reportedly existed as early as 1934) and the AP began to include a post-bowl ranking in the 1968 season on a permanent basis (the AP had experimented with post-bowl rankings in 1965). United Press (later UPI) began the Coaches Poll in the 1950 season, and in 1974, their final poll incorporated results of bowl games for the first time. Interestingly, had the Coaches poll not moved its final vote to January when they did, the 1978 Penn State team would have been their “National Champs” since they were 11-0 and ranked #1 at the end of the regular season. The ‘78 PSU team went on to narrowly lose the 1979 Sugar Bowl to #2 Alabama, 14-7. The same could also have been said of the 1985 Nittany Lions who lost their unbeaten record and #1 ranking to #3 Oklahoma, 25-10, in the 1986 Orange Bowl.

Historically Unclaimed PSU Titles—

1911, 1912, 1969, 1981, and 1994 are also recognized by the NCAA as National Championship football seasons for PSU based on different rankings such as Power Indexes and “Computer Ratings”

The National Championship Foundation (NCF) which began in 1980 to select then-current National Champions (continuing annually through the 2000 season) also retroactively selected champions from 1869 through 1979. The NCF’s selections are officially recognized by the NCAA and are claimed by a number of schools who won NCF, and other “mythical” national titles through the decades. Pitt, for example, claims 9 national football championships from 1915 to 1976 with only two (1937, 1976) that include a #1 ranking from the AP, and only one (1976) with a #1 ranking from UPI. Also, as of 2025, Auburn officially claims 9 national football championships from 1910 through 2010 including the 2004 national title which was won by USC who defeated Oklahoma in the BCS Championship/Orange Bowl Game. In 2010, USC was forced by the NCAA to vacate that BCS victory (and other wins) as result of the Reggie Bush investigation, but USC did not vacate its place atop the final AP rankings for 2004. Auburn ended the 2004 season at 13-0 and had been left out of the BCS title game in favor of the two other unbeatens, the Trojans and the Sooners. This helps reinforce the notion that Penn State could and should officially claim a total of 7 national football championships.

Penn State was the NCF’s outright or co-national champ in 5 seasons (1911 shared with Princeton 8-0-2, 1912 shared with Harvard 9-0, 1982 outright, 1986 outright, and 1994 shared with Nebraska 13-0). Penn State was unbeaten in all of those seasons except 1982 which saw a road loss at Alabama. Interestingly, the unbeaten, record-setting 1947 team (9-0-1) did not get any retroactive love and neither did the unbeaten teams of 1968 (11-0), 1969 (11-0), or 1973 (12-0).

The 1911 & 1912 National Champs may not have been honored by all of the “official selectors” of champions for this era, but they were worthy of their NCF titles. The 1911 Nittany Lions of Bill Hollenback were 8-0-1 and only permitted two opponents (UPenn & Colgate) to score a combined 15 points. Big Bill’s 1912 Lions were 8-0 (the first and only unbeaten/untied, “coached” team of the pre-Paterno era) and pitched 7 shutouts allowing only 6 points in a 29-6 victory at Cornell. So, over two seasons, Penn State held 14 of 17 foes scoreless. And don’t forget, State’s 1911 squad was the first to defeat then-archrival UPenn, 22-6. LINK TO 1911 PENN STATE DEFEATS PENN The Nittany Lions of 1911 & 1912 also only played 9 of their 17 total games at home while twice-tied 1911 Princeton played 8 of 10 at home (the Tigers only scored 6 total points in their 2 road contests), and unbeaten/untied 1912 Harvard played 8 of 9 at home (the Crimson only visited archrival Yale). Powerhouse teams like Harvard, Princeton, Yale and UPenn seldom travelled in this era giving them a real “home field advantage”.

Penn State’s 1994 unbeaten offensive powerhouse (12-0) and so-called “uncrowned” team was actually ranked #1 or co-#1 in seven recognized selector polls of the time. In addition to the NCF co-championship with Nebraska (13-0), Penn State was selected “#1 Outright” by the New York Times, DeVold, Eck, and Matthews computer polls. And PSU was also selected “Co-#1” in the Sagarin and the FACT (Foundation for the Analysis of Competitions and Tournaments) computer polls.

In the immediate aftermath of the 1994 AP/Coaches poll snubs in favor of so-called “consensus champ” Nebraska, Penn State did publicly recognize and tout its outright “New York Times National Championship”. The back of the south scoreboard at Beaver Stadium facing the parking area did, for a few seasons in the mid-90’s, display a sign honoring the 1994 NYT National Champs along with PSU’s other unbeaten squads and “claimed” national champs (see 1997 photo below). Note: For a number of seasons, Beaver Stadium Pictorial has included a small 3-page photo section simply called “Championship Teams”, and it always, and only, includes the 1982, 1986 and 1994 teams which seems to imply something without saying the word “national” out loud.

Other “uncrowned” champs: The 1969 undefeated Nittany Lions (11-0) were also voted #1 by FACT and Sagarin, while the 1981 team despite its 10-2 record sat atop the Dunkel Power Index ratings (as did the 1982 team, but not the ‘86 squad).