Athletics

Penn State student-athletes post record academic achievement last fall

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.

Last Updated March 19, 2009

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