University Park, Pa. — Penn State student-athletes continued their outstanding academic achievement during the 2006 spring semester, with more than 375 active student-athletes earning a grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
During the most recent semester, 381 student-athletes earned a GPA of 3.0 or above, 57 percent of the 670 young men and women who were members of Penn State\’s 29 varsity sports this past spring, according to Russ Mushinsky, director of the Morgan Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes.
Among the 381 student-athletes with a 3.0, 172 earned a 3.5 GPA or better to gain dean\’s list recognition (minimum of 12 credits). The 172 high achievers represented 25.6 percent of Penn State\’s active student-athletes, an improvement of four percentage points from spring 2005.
Penn State\’s 29 varsity programs earned an average team GPA of 3.06 last semester and 19 teams posted a team GPA of 3.0 or higher.
\”We are very pleased with the consistently outstanding academic performance by our student-athletes,\” said Tim Curley, director of athletics. \”The results are a tribute to the encouragement the Penn State faculty, coaches and academic support personnel provide to our student-athletes and their dedicated efforts to earn a meaningful education.\”
Penn State\’s student-athletes, who won a school record six Big Ten championships in 2005-06, consistently have been among the nation\’s most successful in earning their degrees. Among some of the recent academic accomplishments are:
– A total of 243 Penn State student-athletes earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2005-06, the third-highest total in the 12 years of the program. Over the past 12 years, Penn State leads all Big Ten institutions with 2,553 academic all-conference honorees.
– During the 2005 fall semester, a record 199 student-athletes earned a 3.50 grade point average or higher to gain Dean\’s List recognition. The total represented a record 27 percent of the 738 young men and women who were members of Penn State\’s 29 varsity sports last fall.
A total of 435 student-athletes earned a GPA of 3.0 or above during the fall semester, just seven off the record of 442 from the 2003 fall semester. The 435 total represented 59 percent of active student-athletes, one percent below the record 60 percent set in the fall of 2003 and \’04.
– In the NCAA\’s 2006 Academic Performance Rate (APR) report, 11 Penn State teams earned a perfect APR score of 1,000 during 2004-05 and seven teams have a two-year APR score of 1,000. Among Penn State\’s 29 varsity teams, 24 have a two-year APR score above the Division I average for their respective sports.
– Penn State student-athletes earned a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 87 percent compared to a 77 percent average for all Division I-A institutions, according to NCAA data released in January. Twenty of Penn State\’s 25 teams earned a GSR score above the national average (track and field and cross country are counted as one sport).
– Among the 1998-99 entering freshman class, 78 percent of Penn State student-athletes earned degrees within six years, compared to 62 percent for all Division I-A institutions, according to the NCAA. The four-year average rate for University Park student-athletes was 80 percent, significantly above the national average of 62 percent for student-athletes. The four-year average was second highest in the Big Ten to Northwestern.
– African-American student-athletes at Penn State consistently graduate at much higher percentages than at other Division I-A institutions. The 73 percent four-year federal rate marked the 15th straight year that Penn State\’s graduation rate for African-American student-athletes topped the African-American figures for Division I-A. At all Division I-A institutions in the NCAA compilation, the African-American four-year graduation percentile was 52 percent.
The University\’s African-American student-athlete GSR was 82 percent, 22 points higher than the national GSR average of 60 percent.
Five Nittany Lions earned ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in 2005-06: Sarah Haupt (women\’s swimming), Jennifer Leatherman (women\’s track and field), Erin McLeod (women\’s soccer), Paul Posluszny (football) and Conrad Taylor (men\’s soccer).
Penn State has had 121 Academic All-Americans all-time, to rank No. 4 among all NCAA institutions, with 78 such honorees over the past 13 years.
Also, women\’s swimming All-American standout Sarah Haupt was awarded a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, becoming the 41st Penn State student-athlete to be so honored, with 10 in the past six years.