The Nittany Lions compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference, which they joined in 1993 after playing as an Independent from 1892 to 1992.

[8] His first team played its home game on the Old Main lawn on campus in State College, Pennsylvania, before the 500-seat Beaver Field opened in 1893.

[18][non-primary source needed] Harlow's Nittany Lions compiled a 20–8 (.714) record in his three seasons (1915–1917)[19] and was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach for his accomplishments.

[26][27] Engle posted a 104–48–4 record during his 16-season tenure as head coach and developed a game known as Angleball as a way for his players to maintain fitness in the off-season.

[29] In June 1990,[30] Penn State's athletics program, after a century as a Division I-A independent, joined the Big Ten Conference.

[25] Players including Kerry Collins, Charlie Zapiec, Matt Millen, Shane Conlan, Jack Ham, Dennis Onkotz, Franco Harris, Greg Buttle, Keith Dorney, John Cappelletti, Curt Warner, Larry Johnson, LaVar Arrington and Ted Kwalick played collegiately for him.

Following the Pennsylvania Attorney General's release of a grand jury summary of child sexual abuse charges involving former assistant Jerry Sandusky,[32] the Penn State board of trustees fired Paterno in November 2011.

[39] Early in O'Brien's tenure, the NCAA sanctioned Penn State with a four-season postseason ban and a loss of 40 scholarships due to the child sex abuse scandal.

[42] In January 2014, Bill O'Brien left Penn State to accept the head coaching position with the NFL's Houston Texans.

I look forward to diligently working with President Barron and Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour on implementing a plan that puts our University and our student-athletes in the best position to compete on the field and in life.

"[50] In addition to the guaranteed money, Franklin's contract extension has incentives including $800,000 for a national title, $400,000 for a College Football Playoff appearance and $350,000 for winning the Big Ten Championship Game.

Penn state lost to Oregon but still received an at-large bid in the inaugural year of the 12-team College Football Playoff as the sixth seed.

Maryland would win the first matchup by a point (20–19) after infamously declining to shake hands with Penn State captains at midfield during the coin toss at Beaver Stadium.

The second meeting as conference foes would be played in Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium and would again be decided by a point, this time a Penn State win 31–30.

[62] Prior to 1993, Penn State had never played against Michigan, but since then many of the games have been competitive duels with shots at a Big Ten title at stake, and subsequently a national championship.

[68] The rivalry went on a 15-year hiatus prior to the scheduling of a 4-game series in 2011[69] that would see Penn State travel to Pittsburgh in 2016 & 2018 with Pitt returning to Happy Valley in 2017 & 2019.

[78] Though the Crimson Tide are not as much of a traditional opponent for the Nittany Lions, the two teams are still often considered among the best in the country, claim a combined 20 national titles (of which 18 belong to Alabama), and have met in a bowl game three times.

"[81] Originally named "Paternoville", Nittanyville is a student camp out that occurs every week of a Penn State home football game.

[82] Since then, students have camped out in small to massive numbers in order to guarantee themselves a front row seat to a Penn State home football game.

[84] On Friday, ESPN's "Cold Pizza" morning show was broadcast from in front of the Bryce Jordan Center, across from the stadium, with some of the cast walking through Paternoville interviewing students and taping their activities, despite the constant drizzle.

The next day, ESPN's College Gameday also was broadcast in front of the Bryce Jordan Center, hours before the showdown between the cross-border rivals.

In 2011, the record was broken because of Penn State's high-powered home schedule, which included SEC powerhouse Alabama and new in-conference foe Nebraska, amongst other teams.

[93] The June 2012 conviction of former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky on multiple counts of child sexual abuse marred the "Success with Honor" image.

In 2012, Penn State started wearing names on their uniforms for the first time as a way to note the players who stuck with the school through the scandal and a blue ribbon in support the victims of child abuse.

[104][better source needed] The scandal centered on then retired Penn State football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky's sexual assault of two underage boys on or near university property.

[116] Several high-level school officials were charged with perjury,[117] suspended, or dismissed for allegedly covering up the incidents or failing to notify authorities.

School president Graham Spanier was forced to resign, and head football coach Joe Paterno was fired without cause late in the season, while Sandusky maintained his innocence.

[118] Former FBI director Louis Freeh, whose firm was hired by the Penn State Board of Trustees to conduct an investigation, concluded, after ostensibly conducting 400 interviews and reviewing 3.5 million documents, that Paterno, Spanier, Curley and Schultz had "repeatedly concealed critical facts relating to Sandusky's abuse from the authorities, the Board of Trustees, Penn State community, and the public at large.

"[119][120][121] In an interview on 60 Minutes Sports, the former Chief Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Frank Fina, who investigated and prosecuted Sandusky, stated he found no evidence that Paterno participated in a cover-up.

The NCAA had appointed Mitchell to monitor progress of Penn State's reforms to enhance their "security, ethics, governance and compliance structure".