Penn Quakers

General Team Information:

NCAA Division: Division I
Conference: Ivy League
Past Conferences: Ivy and Ind
City: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Stadium: The Palestra
NCAA Tournaments: 1953, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2018

Championships:

National Championships: 0
Conference Titles: 1

Team History

The University of Pennsylvania was originally founded as the Academy of Philadelphia in 1740 and was the first institution of higher learning to be chartered in the country. In addition, it considers itself to be the fourth-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. The Pennsylvania Quakers’ men’s basketball program was established much later.

The University of Pennsylvania Quakers’ men’s basketball team played their inaugural game during the 1896-97 season. There isn’t enough information about who the first coach/coaches were during the program’s inception. The first coach with a recorded history in the program is Russell Smith, who led the team for a few years.

The school had a head start compared to the other programs in the Ivy League, as the university has some games under its belt. Although it took some time for the program to establish itself, the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s basketball team has become the most successful in its conference to date as the Penn team stats show from the years 1966 to 2007.

During the Helms Athletic Foundation’s existence, from 1936 to 1961, the champions were considered pre-tournament Helms champions. The school was awarded this honor in the 1920 and 1921 seasons. Moreover, the squad was named Pre-tournament Premo-Porretta champions in the 1920 season as well.

NCAA Tourney for the First Time

Led by head coach Howard Dallmar, qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in its history. It’s worth noting that the structure of the NCAA Tournament was different at that time compared to its current format. In addition, Penn was a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate League (EIL) from 1903 through 1955 before joining the Ivy League. A total of 13 EIL Regular Season Championships were won by Penn: 1906, 1908, 1916, 1918, 1920, 1921, 1928, 1929, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1945, and 1953.

The school reached the “Sweet 16” (first round) in the 1953 season and lost to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. They wouldn’t leave without putting up a fight in the dance, as the team defeated the DePaul Blue Demons in the Regional 3rd Place game.

Over the next two decades, the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s basketball team struggled to qualify for playoffs, as many of the other Ivy League schools would take advantage of the opportunity during this period. In spite of that, Penn would make up for the missing time in the 1970s and beyond, as consistency became a part of the program.

Penn and Princeton are pretty big rivals in the Conference: both are arguably the most successful teams in the conference overall, since they used to play each other in the final game of the season.

The Most Successful Season to Date

In the 1979 season, under head coach Bob Weinhauer, the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s basketball team had its most successful season to date. With a regular season record of 25-7, the team surprised many by advancing far in the playoffs. Despite close wins in the earlier rounds, the Quakers were ultimately defeated by the Michigan State Spartans in the Final Four; the Spartans were led by Magic Johnson. In a subsequent game, the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s basketball team lost to DePaul again, this time in the National 3rd Place game.

Although the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s basketball team did not have much success in the NCAA Tournament in more recent years, they consistently qualified for it. As one of the 20 most successful men’s basketball programs of all time in terms of wins from 1966 to 2007, a span of over 40 years; this put the school at 12th all-time on the list.

In addition, the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s basketball team was invited to the NIT in 1981 but lost in the opening round to the West Virginia Mountaineers, and was invited to the CBI in 2012; ultimately, the school suffered the same result of falling in the first round. From the years 1980 to 2018, the program would continuously punch multiple tickets to the dance but accumulate just two wins on the national stage, as the school has an overall record of 13-26 in the tournament.

Regardless of how one breaks it down, Penn has set the bar for many other Ivy League schools in the conference to follow. A few decades ago, head coach Steve Donahue spent time calling the shots at Cornell before heading to Boston College for a few years.

Since then, he has returned to the Ivy League to coach Penn. Donahue is entering his eighth season with the team. Prior to the start of the current season, the Quakers were predicted to have the second-best chances of winning the Ivy League Conference, as the NCAAB odds show, but has struggled to start the regular season.

All-Time Records

Points Scored

• AJ Brodeur 1,832
• Ernie Beck 1,827
• Ugonna Onyekwe 1,762

Rebounds

• Ernie Beck 1,557
• Bart Leach 1,028
• AJ Brodeur 928

Assists

• Zack Rosen 587
• Jerome Allen 505
• Mike Jordan 469

Steals

• Ibrahim Jaaber 303
• Jerome Allen 166
• Matt Maloney 157

FAQs