After being denied varsity status by the university in 1980 and 1981 Penn State Women's Club Soccer filed a Title IX gender discrimination complaint with the Office of Civil Rights.

[9][10][11] Tim Conley, then Penn State men's soccer assistant coach, was asked to accompany the team to a tournament in Alabama at the end of the 1978 season.

[15] With an elevated recognition Penn State Women's Club Soccer and Tim Conley set a schedule of games mostly consisting of varsity opponents for their 1980 season.

[21][22] The Office of Civil Rights officially initiated an investigation into the Penn State athletic department in April 1981 after it received the club team's complaint letter.

[28] The investigation was officially closed in March 1984 after supreme court case Grove City College v. Bell ruled that compliance with Title IX is necessary only in the particular programs or activities that receive federal funding, which Penn State's athletic department did not.

[29][30] After a headlining 1981 season off the pitch, seeing the Nittany Lions file a Title IX gender discrimination complaint against the university, the club finished with a record of eight wins, five losses and one tie.

In contrast to the public statements the university had supervised certain aspects of the club including academic eligibility as well as making sure the team adhered to AIAW rules.

Players shared that many faculty members believed that being an advisor for a club sport was not strategically smart as many saw their time could be used more wisely to advance their academic careers through research grants or writing articles.

Penn State's Assistant Athletic Director Herb Schmidt acknowledged the growth of the sport and agreed that the financial agreement laid out in the proposal may help solve the short-term problem but argued it could potentially impact the future of the program.

[46] The Nittany Lion club received a bid to the NCCSA national championship tournament, representing the East Region in November 1990 after compiling a regular season record of 14–6–0.

[1] Penn State's athletic department announced in August 1993 that women's soccer would become a university intercollegiate varsity sport at the start of the 1994 season.

[59] In accordance with the Big Ten mandate university administration released a sports gender equity plan that laid out the formation of the varsity team.

Welsh took a leave of absence from school and college soccer to establish a residency with the United States Women's National Team in Florida to train.

[100][101] Penn State defender Bonnie Young and goalkeeper Emily Oleksiuk were selected in the 2002 Women's United Soccer Association draft.

Receiving an at-large bid for the 2002 NCAA Tournament the Nittany Lions downed Princeton, Maryland, Virginia and Connecticut on the road to the College Cup.

[113] Moscato's returned from World Cup play scoring two goals and three assists in two matches gave a boost to the Nittany Lions and helped Penn State clinch the 2003 Big Ten Regular Season Title.

[118] Also during the off season Jeffrey Field, the team's home stadium, received a renovation adding 1,500 more seats, a press box, video booth and a brand new playing surface.

[134] Penn State fell to Portland in penalty kicks in the semifinal, defeating Santa Clara, Texas A&M and Bucknell on the way to the College Cup.

[162] Before the start of their 2009 campaign the Nittany Lions traveled to Brazil to train against amateur and professional clubs as well as playing futsal and beach soccer matches.

[189] Penn State received an at-large, 1st seed bid to the 2012 NCAA Tournament, opening the competition defeating Long Island University Brooklyn.

[201] Penn State Forward Maya Hayes was selected by Sky Blue FC as the sixth overall pick in the NWSL college draft.

[202] Penn State's Defender Brittany Basinger and goalkeeper Rose Chandler traveled to Canada to participate in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup during the start of the 2014 season.

[204] Heading into the Big Ten regular season the Nittany Lions had accrued a 5–1–0 record, losing only to the defending National Champion North Carolina.

[208] Opening the tournament with a win over Buffalo the Nittany Lions advanced beating both UConn and Virginia Tech eventually falling to Texas A&M in an Elite Eight matchup.

[211] Ranked sixth in the country Penn State took on a tough preseason in 2015 facing Duke, Stanford and others heading into the Big Ten regular season with a 5–1–1 record.

[216][217][218] On the path to the championship the Nittany Lions played 6 tournament matches, defeating Duke, Rutgers, West Virginia, Ohio State, Boston University and Albany while scoring 20 goals and allowing zero in all competitions.

[219] At the conclusion of the 2015 season Penn State forward Raquel Rodríguez was awarded the Hermann Trophy, as well as the Top Drawer Soccer Player of the Year.

[227] The Penn State women's team wears Nike kits featuring the school's navy and white colors and displays a crest on their uniforms which is unique to them.

[229] The stadium's record attendance was achieved on August 19, 2016, when Penn State women's soccer faced West Virginia admitting 5,791 fans to the match.

[240] Penn State women's soccer assistant coach Tim Wassell lead the formation by recruiting a group of freshmen leaders and student members.