UPENN Football Celebrates 150th Anniversary of Program
Tagged under: News, Penn, Pennsylvania Colleges
Nicholas Mastripolito | September 2, 2026
The University of Pennsylvania football program began play in 1876, when the program lost its first-ever game to Princeton. At the time, the rules of football were completely different; the game of football on college campuses was still relatively new, and the rules were more like rugby, the sport Harvard thought was superior. The team lost their first-ever game in 1876 to Princeton by a score of 6 goals to 0, and then after the game the host team treated the visitor to supper. Penn won their first football game against another college when they beat Swarthmore College. This was just the beginning of a 150-year program that has won 18 Ivy League championships and 7 National titles.
Fast forward to 2026, and the University of Penn football team is still playing at the historic Franklin Field, the stadium they have played at since its opening in 1985, and they are looking for another conference title. The team brought in a brand new head coach to kickstart the brand new chapter of UPENN football. Rick Santos, a former CFL and NFL quarterback, along with a successful head coaching stint with New Hampshire, will take over UPENN football as the new George A. Munger head coach.
Santos’ position is named after George A. Munger, who was the University of Pennsylvania’s football coach from 1938-1953. Munger coached some of the Penn greats, including Philadelphia Eagles legend Chuck Bednarik. Five of Munger’s former players were inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The Munger era at UPENN was special; his teams finished among the top 10 teams in the nation three times. UPENN was drawing big crowds and even led the nation in attendance between 1938 and 1942.
Rick Santos and his squad will look to make history during an already historical 2026 campaign. The team will face off against Bucknell on September 19th for their first game before returning home and taking on Lehigh on the 26th.
