Former wrestlers include Dan Hodge Trophy Winners Kerry McCoy (1997), Zain Retherford (2017, 2018), Bo Nickal (2019), Aaron Brooks (2024), and Olympic Champion David Taylor (2012, 2014).

[6] The first dual was cancelled, but the second held on March 27, 1909, at Cornell went forward seeing Penn State fall 6–1 in their first ever, with each team receiving one point for each bout winner.

[9][10] After eight years of applying for membership, Penn State was granted entrance into the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) in 1918.

Naito, a Japanese born immigrant, was team captain his senior season and claimed an EIWA championship at 135 pounds.

While Naito was one of the best wrestlers in his weight class and expressed his interest in representing the United States in the competition due to the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924 he was banned from representing the country in international competitions This led the Japanese Olympic Committee to extend an invitation to Naito to compete in Freestyle wrestling in the featherweight class.

[14][15] Naito won his first match against Belgium's Albert Foubert before facing and losing by decision to eventual gold medalist Robin Reed of the United States.

The Panzer College graduate and skilled boxer in the Golden Gloves, was hired by the Nittany Lions in 1927 as the university's boxing and wrestling coach.

[18][19][20] Under Speidel's leadership, the team quickly gained recognition, with Howard Johnston earning Penn State's first All-American title in 1935 at 165 pounds.

Speidel also played a key role in establishing the National Wrestling Coaches Association in 1930 and organizing the first PIAA State Championships in 1938.

[21][22] Penn State's history with the NCAA Wrestling Championships began when Ted Wilson was crowned EIWA champion at 125 pounds in 1929 making him the first Nittany Lion to be invited to the post season tournament.

[29] Teammate and fraternity brother Charlie Ridenour was instrumental in developing Hall's wrestling ability while at Penn State.

Despite first-year coach Rich Lorenzo's optimism, the team failed to reverse their fate, ultimately suffering 11 consecutive losses and finishing the season with a 2–11 record.

Despite the disastrous start, Lorenzo's leadership and personality proved to be essential to Penn State's eventual resurgence during the 1980–81 season, leading them to a sixth-place finish in the NCAA tournament.

The team secured the program's first victory over Iowa with a 27–15 final score, and also recorded a convincing regular season triumph over Oklahoma by 30–8.

The Nittany Lions ended the season with a dual record of 18–1–1, clinching the EWL title and finishing in third place at the NCAA championships.

Despite falling short of individual NCAA titles, the team earned a notable eight All-American honors, the most in its history up to that point.

Despite consistently being a top contender, the team fell just short of winning the national or Big Ten Conference championship.

[2] Penn State hit a slump under head coach Troy Sunderland, through the 2000s the team had only achieved two top-five finish in his 11-year tenure, and had even placed as low as 35th.

[37] In April 2009, Cael Sanderson, one of the most distinguished American wrestlers, accepted the head coaching position with Penn State wrestling.

Sanderson's Iowa State team finished second, fifth, and third at NCAAs during his time as head coach, qualifying a wrestler in every weight class for the championships during each of his three years — 30 in total.

Five Nittany Lions finished first in their weight class at the Big Ten Tournament, including two redshirt freshmen: former number one pound-for-pound recruit David Taylor, who had followed Sanderson from Iowa State to Penn State, and Ed Ruth, who had committed to the previous regime but remained committed when Sanderson was hired.

[41] The Nittany Lions took a step back in 2014-2015 season following the graduation of Taylor and Ruth, posting a sixth place NCAA finish with only one individual national champion: fifth-year senior Matt Brown.

The 2019-2020 NCAA Tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing seniors Joseph and Hall from competing for a final title.

In recent years, Penn State has also started hosting some wrestling events at the Bryce Jordan Center, which is a larger and more modern arena that opened in 1996.