University Park, Pa. — More than 350 Penn State student-athletes earned a grade point average of 3.0 or higher during the 2011 Spring semester to highlight another outstanding academic performance, Tim Curley, Director of Athletics, reported Tuesday (July 26).
During the most recent semester, a total of 354 student-athletes earned a GPA of 3.0 or above last semester. The 354 total represents 54 percent of the young men and women who were members of Penn State’s 29 varsity sports last spring.
Among the 354 Nittany Lion student-athletes with a 3.0 GPA, 165 earned a 3.50 grade point average or higher to gain Dean’s List recognition. The 165 total represents 25.3 percent of Penn State’s student-athletes this past spring. Dean’s List students must complete a minimum of 12 credits in a semester.
Penn State’s 29 varsity teams had an average GPA of 3.01 with 20 squads earning a team semester GPA of 3.0 or higher, according to Russ Mushinsky, Director of the Morgan Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes. The cheerleaders and Lionettes dance team also posted team GPAs of 3.0 or better.
Two Nittany Lion student-athletes earned Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America® honors last spring, giving Penn State five first-team selections in 2010-11. Ryan Foster (men’s track and field) and Miguel Pineda (men’s gymnastics) earned first team Academic All-America® accolades during the spring.
Penn State has had 172 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans® all-time, the third highest total in the nation, with 117 honorees under Curley’s leadership. A total of 26 Nittany Lion student-athletes have earned Academic All-America® honors the past three years.
"We are very pleased by the outstanding academic achievements of our student-athletes," Curley said. "Our student-athletes consistently strive for achievement at the highest level. Their academic success is a credit to their excellent work-ethic and dedication and to the encouragement they receive from our faculty, academic support personnel and coaches."
Penn State’s student-athletes, who have captured 27 Big Ten Championships during the past six years and 10 NCAA titles since March, 2007, consistently have been among the nation’s most successful in earning their degrees. Among some of the recent academic accomplishments are:
– The NCAA’s annual study of institutions nationwide revealed in October, 2010 that Penn State student-athletes at the University Park campus earned a record Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 90 percent compared to a 79 percent average for all Division I institutions for students entering from 2000-01 through 2003-04. The 90 percent figure was second to Northwestern (97) among Big Ten institutions.
– The four-year federal graduation rate average for University Park student-athletes was 80 percent, significantly higher than the national average of 64 percent, and second to Northwestern (88) among Big Ten Conference institutions.
– A total of 237 Nittany Lion student-athletes earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2010-11, raising Penn State’s total to 3,784 honorees in the program’s existence.
– A school record nine Penn State teams received a Public Recognition Award from the NCAA in May for earning Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores in the top 10 percent for their respective sport.
– The Penn State football team again led the nation with three first-team Academic All-Americans® in 2010. The Nittany Lions’ 15 Academic All-Americans® over the past five years (13 first team selections) leads the nation and their 49 Academic All-Americans® all-time is third-highest nationally.
