UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics is at the forefront of the Big Ten Conference in comprehensive academic and athletic excellence achieved by its approximately 800 student-athletes across 31 programs.
In data calculated by Penn State Athletics, the Nittany Lions lead all Big Ten institutions in a compilation of the most recent NCAA Graduation Success Rates (GSR), CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and NCAA and Big Ten championships won over the past four years. NCAA graduation rates are based on four years of data.
With an 89 percent NCAA GSR, 17 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, six NCAA championships, and 24 Big Ten titles over the past four years, the Nittany Lions have 136 points in the compilation. Penn State's NCAA graduation rate is tied for second highest in the conference, and over the past four years its 17 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans are third highest, the Nittany Lions' six NCAA titles are tied for the most in the Big Ten, and their 24 Big Ten crowns are second highest.
Michigan is second in the compilation with 132 points, followed by Ohio State (128), Nebraska (125), Michigan State (122) and Minnesota (120).
Penn State offers one of the nation's most comprehensive and successful athletic programs. The Nittany Lions' 31 sports (16 men's and 15 women's) are tied for the fourth-highest total nationally among all 128 Football Bowl Subdivision institutions.
Sixty-two percent of Penn State student-athletes earned at least a 3.0 grade point average during the spring semester and a school record 500 Nittany Lion students posted a 3.0 GPA or higher during the 2014 fall semester. Penn State ranks No. 4 among all Division I schools with 189 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans all-time.
Penn State's 46 NCAA championships all-time (74 national championships overall) rank No. 5 among all NCAA Division I programs and are the highest total of any college or university east of the Mississippi River. The Nittany Lions' 16 NCAA titles since March 2007 are tied with USC for the most in the nation.
Penn State has won 92 Big Ten titles all-time, including 20 conference crowns since September 2012. The Nittany Lions placed No. 8 in the final 2014-15 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup rankings, their 11th Top 10 finish in the 22 years of the Directors' Cup.