UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State student-athletes continued their success in the classroom with 19 Nittany Lions approved to graduate following the conclusion of the summer semester. The Penn State student-athletes, who represented 15 teams, participated in ceremonies on the University Park campus on Saturday, Aug. 10.
These 19 student-athletes bring the 2018-19 academic year total to 188 gradates, a Penn State record.
Commencement ceremonies prior to the summer sessions included 169 student-athletes approved to graduate, breaking the previous school record of 156 set in 2015-2016 and matched in 2016-17.
A record-number 368 Penn State student-athletes earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2018-19, all possessing a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher. The Big Ten also recognized 117 Penn State student-athletes as Big Ten Distinguished Scholars for those students who recorded a minimum grade-point average of 3.7 for the 2018-19 academic year.
The records for academic achievement included a record 505 student-athletes who earned GPAs of 3.0 or above for spring 2019, with 245 who earned dean’s list honors with a minimum GPA of 3.5, another record.
The 205 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans posted by Penn State, with four more added to the total in 2018-19, are No. 4 among all Division I institutions.
Penn State’s 51 NCAA Championships all-time (79 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. Penn State’s 21 NCAA titles since 2007 are tied for No. 3 in the nation and lead all Big Ten Conference institutions. The Nittany Lions have won 113 Big Ten championships or tournament titles since capturing their first crown in 1992-93, including six during the 2018-19 academic year.