PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania football team was picked third with two first-place votes in the Ivy League's preseason poll, announced by the conference on Monday afternoon. The poll was voted on by 16 members of the media, two from each Ancient Eight school.
 
Penn totaled 88 voting points and two of the 16 first-place votes to come in third, while Harvard had 108 points and seven first-place votes to take second. Yale—defending Ivy champion for the last two seasons—was voted to three-peat with 114 points and six first-place votes.
 
Princeton (80, one first-place vote) and Dartmouth (80) tied for fourth with Brown (56) coming in sixth, Cornell (26) seventh and Columbia (24) eighth.
 
In a parity-filled Ivy League slate back in 2023, the Quakers finished with an overall record of 6-4, going 3-4 in conference play to finish in a tie for fifth in the standings with Brown.
 
This year's Penn team is led by three returning first-team All-Ivy selections with sophomore running back Malachi Hosley—the Quakers' first Ivy League Rookie of the Year award winner since 1993—junior wide receiver Jared Richardson, and senior defensive back Shiloh Means. Other All-Ivy returners include one second-team honoree in senior linebacker Jack Fairman and three honorable mention picks in senior quarterback Aidan Sayin, senior tight end Bryce Myers, and senior defensive lineman Paul Jennings.
 
Richardson has already had an eventful preseason, being named All-America by three publications including FCS Football Central (Sports Illustrated), Stats Perform, and Phil Steele. The star wideout had an incredible sophomore season for the Quakers last year, leading the team in catches (67), yards (788), and touchdowns (8). The TD total was good for 12th in FCS football by regular season's end.

Penn is looking to hoist its 19th Ivy League title in program history, the first since 2016, and the third under the direction of George A. Munger Head Coach Ray Priore. Priore added four new faces to his coaching staff with Greg Chimera (offensive coordinator), Marvin Clecidor (defensive backs), Jordan Johnson (running backs), and David Josephson (tight ends) coming to University City.

The Ivy League features new head coaches for three schools—Columbia (Jon Poppe), Cornell (Dan Swanstrom), and Harvard (Andrew Aurich)—while Dartmouth's Sammy McCorkle was elevated from his interim title in 2023 after the Big Green earned a share of the trophy.
 
The Quakers open up the 2024 football season on Saturday, Sept. 21 at Delaware with kickoff set for 6 p.m. Penn will hold its home opener at Franklin Field the following weekend on Sept. 28 against Colgate at 1 p.m.
 
Tickets—both season and single game—for the upcoming year are available to purchase HERE or by calling the ticket office at 215-898-6151.