Athletics

Penn State earns school-record 8th Big Ten Championship

University leads all conference institutions in titles for 2012-13 season

Penn State's wrestling team recorded one of the eight Big Ten titles that placed the University on top of the conference in title wins. Credit: GoPSUsports.comAll Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — On the heels of the women's outdoor track and field team earning its fourth Big Ten Championship in the last six years, Penn State athletic programs have won a school record eight Big Ten titles, including a record seven regular season crowns, during a tremendous 2012-13 athletic season. Also, the Nittany Lions’ 13 Big Ten titles is the most in the 2011-13 two-year span, leading all other conference schools.Penn State’s eight Big Ten titles in 2012-13 lead all conference institutions. Michigan is second with five and only two Big Ten Championships remain to be contested — women’s rowing and baseball. Penn State won seven of the 24 Big Ten regular season championships it competed in this year.

During the last two years, Penn State’s “One Team” mantra has resulted in a combined 13 Big Ten Championships, more than during any other two-year span since the Nittany Lions’ first full year of conference competition in 1993-94. The previous two-year high was a combined 11 on-field titles in 2008-09 and 2009-10.



During the 2011-12 and 2012-13 academic years, Penn State’s 13 conference titles also lead all Big Ten institutions. Michigan is second with nine and Wisconsin is next with seven.

Penn State has won a total of 81 Big Ten on-field titles all-time, which includes 67 regular season crowns and 14 tournament titles.The list of Penn State’s 2012-13 Big Ten champions includes fall titles from field hockey (regular season and tournament), men's soccer (co-champions), women's soccer (15th consecutive) and women's volleyball. The women's basketball and wrestling teams each repeated their conference titles during the winter. The women’s outdoor track and field team earned Big Ten title No. 8 with its victory on Sunday.Penn State won a previous school record-high six conference on-field titles during three seasons in the Big Ten — 1998-99 (four regular season, two postseason), 2005-06 (6 regular season) and 2008-09 (five regular season and one postseason). But the 2012-13 campaign has elevated the department's Big Ten success to new heights with seven regular season titles and one postseason crown.

In addition to the record-breaking total number of Big Ten championships won this season, Penn State’s women’s outdoor track and field crown eclipsed the previous school record number of regular season titles in one academic year with seven. The previous mark came during 2005-06 when Penn State tallied six regular season Big Ten on field titles.

A total of 19 different Penn State teams have competed in NCAA post-season competition during 2012-13 as well. That list will likely grow with the upcoming NCAA Track and Field Championships. The Nittany Lion wrestling team captured its third-straight NCAA title in March. The women's soccer team advanced to the College Cup Final for the first time in program history. The men’s and women’s volleyball teams each competed in the NCAA semifinals.

Penn State was No. 3 nationally in the 2012-13 winter standings in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, which measures comprehensive athletic success among all NCAA institutions. The Nittany Lions are among only nine institutions nationally to finish in the Top 25 every year since the Directors’ Cup program began in 1993-94.Since March, 2007, Penn State has won 12 NCAA Championships from five different sports, tied with USC for No. 1 in the nation during that span.Off the field, Penn State student-athletes continue to excel in the classroom, earning an 88 percent Graduation Success Rate in the latest NCAA compilation. A record 109 Penn State student-athletes from across the 31 varsity sports graduated earlier this month.



Last Updated May 17, 2013

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