Penn State has won 947 games, seventh most in college football, and Joe Paterno won 409 of them, which means one coach accounts for more than 43 percent of the program’s all time total. The .690 winning percentage sits between the top tier of programs above .730 and the rest, and the 2025 season, which began with the team ranked second and ended at 7 and 6, pulled it down a fraction.
| Record through 2025 | 947, 414, 42 |
| Winning percentage | .690 |
| All time rank by wins | Seventh |
| First season | 1887 |
| National championships | Two claimed, 1982 and 1986 |
| Big Ten championships | Four |
| Postseason record | 34 wins, 21 losses, 2 ties in 57 games |
| Coach | Seasons | Wins | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Paterno | 1966 to 2011 | 409 | .749 |
| Rip Engle | 1950 to 1965 | 104 | .679 |
| James Franklin | 2014 to 2025 | 104 | .698 |
| Bob Higgins | 1930 to 1948 | 91 | .607 |
| Hugo Bezdek | 1918 to 1929 | 65 | .665 |
Five coaches account for 773 of the 947 wins. Paterno alone has more than the other four combined. Our head coaches page has every coach with records.
The Vacated Years
In July 2012 the NCAA vacated all 112 Penn State wins from 1998 through 2011 as part of the sanctions that followed the Sandusky case, which dropped Paterno from first to twelfth on the all time coaching list and cut the program’s total by more than a hundred. The wins were restored in January 2015 as part of a settlement, and every record on this page reflects the restored figures.
The 2025 Collapse
Penn State entered 2025 ranked second, lost to Oregon in double overtime in the White Out, then lost at UCLA and at home to Northwestern. James Franklin was fired on October 12 at 3 and 3, the first time the program had dismissed a coach mid season. Terry Smith went 4 and 3 as interim and won the Pinstripe Bowl. Matt Campbell arrived from Iowa State in November. The Nittany Lions open 2026 ranked 18th. Our 2026 schedule page has the full slate.
The Percentage
Penn State’s .690 trails the programmes above it on the wins list, all of which are above .730 except Texas, and the reason is the first half of the 20th century, when the independent schedule was filled with regional games against teams that often beat Penn State. Between 1930 and 1949 the programme was 91, 57 and 11. Under Paterno it was .749, and under Franklin .698. Our winningest programs page has the full top 20.
The Bottom Line
Penn State is 947 wins, 414 losses and 42 ties all time, seventh in college football, and Joe Paterno is responsible for 409 of those wins. The programme’s two national championships and four Big Ten titles were all won by Paterno except the 2016 conference championship, and the 2025 season ended the Franklin era at 104 wins, tied with Rip Engle for second in programme history. Matt Campbell begins in September 2026.