Ray Priore, a fixture of the Penn football program for nearly four decades, resigned from the head coaching position. Prior led the Quakers since 2015, going 58-42 overall and claiming two Ivy League titles in 2015 and 2016.
Priore graduated from the University of Albany and spent two years on the coaching staff as a defensive backs coach in 1985 and 1986. In 1987, he joined Penn as a linebackers coach for three seasons. He moved to the defensive ends coaching position in 1991 and added the special teams duties for the 1995 through 1997 seasons. In 1998, Priore was promoted to defensive coordinator, serving under the legendary Al Bagnoli. As DC from 1998 through 2014, the Quakers won 7 Ivy League titles. In addition to being the DC, Priore was also the associate head coach from 2006 through 2014.
After Bagnoli’s resignation following the 2014 season, Priore was elevated to the head coaching role. The Quakers saw immediate success, winning the Ivy League title in Priore’s first two seasons. The next three seasons saw Penn finish mid-pack in the Ivy League, but never finished below .500. The Ivy League didn’t participate during the 2020-21 COVID-impact season.
In fall 2021, Penn struggled, going 3-7 overall and finishing in a three-way tie at the bottom of the Ivy League. The Quakers rebounded in 2022, finishing in a tie for second in the Ivy League. Penn defeated both Yale (Ivy Champs) and co-second-place Princeton, but a three-point loss at Brown (8th in the Ivy that year) cost them a share of the title.
The 2023 campaign saw the Quakers start 5-1, but stumbled in the final month. Penn went 1-3 to end the season with all three losses by one score or less. 2024 was a rough year as the Quakers started 2-4, before winning two in a row, and then losing the final two games to finish in a three-way tie for last in the Ivy League. In 2025, Penn started 4-1, with the first loss coming against #10 Lehigh. Penn would drop two of the next three to sit at 5-3 overall going into the rivalry game against Harvard. The Quakers nearly shocked the Crimson, but a last-minute drive and walk-off field goal prevented the upset. Penn went on to defeat Princeton 17-6 in the season finale to secure a winning record.
In his 10 seasons at Penn, Priore finished below .500 only twice in 2021 and 2024. In addition to his 57-42 overall record, Priore went 37-33 in Ivy League games.
Priore is the eighth FCS coaching change to occur in the current cycle. Albany (CAA), Cal Poly (Big Sky), Hampton (CAA), Portland State (Big Sky), Samford (SoCon), Southern (SWAC), and Weber State (Big Sky) have also announced changes. The full list of changes can be found here.
Photo Credit to the University of Pennsylvania Athletics
