University Park, Pa. -- Nearly 450 Penn State student-athletes posted a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher, for a record-tying academic performance during the 2004 fall semester.
For the most-recent semester, a record-tying 60 percent of the 728 young men and women who were members of Penn State's 29 varsity sports earned a GPA of 3.0 or above. A total of 440 student-athletes had a GPA of 3.0 or above, just two off the record of 442 from the 2003 fall semester, which represented 60 percent of all active student-athletes.
Among the 440 student-athletes with a 3.0, a record 192 earned a 3.5 GPA or better to gain dean's list recognition. The 192 high-achievers represent a record 26.4 percent of Penn State's active student-athletes. The previous standards were 182 and 24.8 percent, also set in the 2003 fall semester. Dean's list students must complete a minimum of 12 credits in a semester.
Twenty-three of Penn State's 29 varsity programs earned a team GPA of 3.0 or higher last semester. The cheerleaders and dance team also posted team GPAs of 3.0 or better.
"We are elated that our student-athletes continue to perform at record-setting levels and maintain consistently outstanding academic performance every semester," said Tim Curley, director of athletics. "It is a credit to their work ethic and to the encouragement they receive from our faculty, academic support personnel and coaches."
The efforts of Penn State's Morgan Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes, under the direction of Russ Mushinsky, again was reflected in the 2004 NCAA Graduation Rates Report, which showed that 83 percent of Nittany and Lady Lion student-athletes who began their careers in 1997-98 graduated within six years, well above the 62 percent national average. The 83 percent rate was tied for Penn State's best performance in the 14-year history of the report.
For the second time in three years, Penn State student-athletes posted the highest graduation rate among the nation's public institutions, tied with the University of Virginia at 83 percent. Penn State and Virginia tied for the sixth-highest graduation rate overall among the nation's 117 Division I-A institutions.
The four-year average graduation rate for University Park student-athletes was 80 percent, significantly above the national average of 61 percent. The four-year average was second highest among Big Ten Conference institutions to Northwestern.
African-American student-athletes at Penn State continue to graduate at much higher percentages than at other Division I-A institutions. The 69 percent success rate marked the 14th straight year that Penn State's graduation rate for African-American student-athletes topped the African-American figures for Division I-A. At all institutions in the NCAA compilation, the African-American graduation percentile for the entering class of 1997-98 was 51 percent.
During the 2004 fall semester, 72 Penn State student-athletes earned Academic All-Big Ten accolades, second-highest among all conference institutions. During the 2003-04 academic year, a school record 245 Penn State student-athletes earned Academic All-Big Ten accolades, the third-highest total in Conference history. Over the past 10.5 years, Penn State leads all Big Ten institutions with 2,129 academic all-conference honorees, including the fall 2004 semester. The Nittany and Lady Lions have led all Big Ten institutions in academic all-conference honorees six of the past eight years.
Also, senior safety Andrew Guman was selected a first team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American in the fall. Penn State has had 114 Academic All-Americans all-time to rank among the top five among all NCAA institutions. The Nittany and Lady Lions have had 71 such honorees over the past 11 years.