Athletics

Penn State tied for national lead in NCAA championships won since 2007

Wrestling crown boosts Nittany Lions to 19 NCAA titles during past 10 years

Penn State women’s volleyball team has won six of the last 10 NCAA championships, including four straight from 2007 to 2010.  Credit: Penn State AthleticsAll Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State’s lengthy national championship history dates to 1921, and includes another crown this year, which has helped keep the Nittany Lions at the forefront nationally in NCAA title success.

Starting with the men’s and women’s fencing team winning its 10th national crown in March 2007, Penn State’s 19 NCAA championships over the past 10 years are tied for the national lead with Oregon, Southern California and Stanford. The next closest school, Florida, has 16 titles during the 10-year span. The totals include football national championships.

The Nittany Lions have won at least one NCAA title in each of the past 11 academic years, starting in 2006-07.

Penn State’s 19 NCAA championships are more than double the number of NCAA titles won by every Big Ten Conference institution over the past 10 years, with Ohio State second with nine.

Penn State NCAA championships since March 2007 (19):

  • Women's volleyball — 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014
  • Wrestling — 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017
  • Men's and women's fencing — 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014
  • Men's gymnastics — 2007
  • Women’s soccer — 2015
  • Men's volleyball — 2008

Since 1992-93, the Nittany Lions’ 30 NCAA championships easily out-pace every Big Ten Conference school, with Maryland second at 21 (began Big Ten competition in 2014-15). Nebraska, which joined the Big Ten in 2011-12, and Ohio State, are tied with 13 NCAA titles since 1992-93, to rank third.

Coach Cael Sanderson directed Penn State to its sixth NCAA wrestling championship in the past seven years in March with a dominating performance. Led by an NCAA championship record-tying five national champions, the Nittany Lions scored a school record 146.5 points to easily surpass runner-up Ohio State's total of 110.

Most NCAA Championships won since March 2007*:

  • 19 — Penn State, Oregon, Stanford, Southern California
  • 16 — Florida
  • 14 — UCLA
  • 11 — North Carolina, Texas A&M
  • 10 — Alabama, California, Connecticut

*Includes BCS/CFP football championships

Sanderson also directed Penn State to four consecutive NCAA championships from 2011 to 2014. The Nittany Lions have won seven wrestling national titles overall, tied with Oklahoma for No. 4 nationally.

Led by Coach Russ Rose, the Penn State women’s volleyball team has won six of the last 10 NCAA championships, including four straight from 2007 to 2010. The Nittany Lions’ seven overall NCAA women’s volleyball crowns are tied with Stanford for the most of any school nationally.

In December 2015, Coach Erica Walsh guided the Penn State women’s soccer program to its first NCAA championship with a 1-0 victory over Duke. The Nittany Lions won their 18th Big Ten championship in the past 19 years during the 2016 season.

Coach Wes Glon directed Penn State to the 2014 NCAA fencing championship. The Nittany Lions have won 13 national titles to easily lead the nation. Notre Dame is next with five.

Coach Randy Jepson led Penn State to the 2007 NCAA men’s gymnastics championship, its 12th national title, which also leads the nation.

Coach Mark Pavlik guided the Nittany Lions to the 2008 NCAA men’s volleyball championship. Penn State’s pair of national titles are tied for the most among all schools east of the Rocky Mountains.

Most NCAA championships won by Big Ten Conference institutions since 1992-93*:

  • 30 — Penn State
  • 21 — Maryland (joined Big Ten in 2014-15)
  • 13 — Nebraska (joined Big Ten in 2011-12) and Ohio State
  • 12 — Minnesota

*Includes Poll/BCS/CFP football championships

Led by Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour, Penn State has one of the nation’s most comprehensive and successful athletic programs, featuring 800 student-athletes across 31 varsity programs (16 men’s, 15 women’s). Penn State student-athletes have an NCAA Graduation Success Rate of 89 percent and ranks No. 4 among all Division I schools with 195 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans all-time. The Nittany Lions lead all conference schools with 5,730 Academic All-Big Ten selections since 1991-92.

Penn State’s 49 NCAA championships all-time (77 national championships overall) rank No. 5 among all NCAA Division I programs and are the highest total of any college or university east of the Mississippi River.

Penn State has won 77 national championships and 103 Big Ten titles all-time, including eight NCAA titles and 30 conference crowns since September 2012. Penn State has six Big Ten championships thus far in 2016-17, tied for second-most in the conference.

Last Updated May 1, 2017