Nittany Lion Student-Athletes Produce Two Highest 3.0 and Dean’s List Semester Totals All-time in 2014-15; Combined 3.11 Team GPA, 62 Percent Earn 3.0 GPA
July 9, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State student-athletes again eclipsed records during the 2015 spring semester, with 474 earning a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher to punctuate an outstanding and record-breaking 2014-15 academic year.
Among the 474 Nittany Lion student-athletes earning at least a 3.0 GPA, a spring school record 221 garnered Dean’s List honors by posting a GPA of 3.50 or higher during the most recent semester. A minimum of 12 credits are required for Dean’s List recognition.
The 474 high achievers topped the previous Penn State spring record of 461 student-athletes with a 3.0 GPA during the 2014 spring semester. The 474 Nittany Lions earning at least a 3.0 GPA represent 62 percent of Penn State’s 764 student-athletes enrolled during the most recent semester.
The 221 Dean’s List honorees easily exceeded the previous record of 205 from the 2014 spring semester. Twenty-nine percent of Penn State’s student-athletes achieved posted a 3.5 GPA or higher last semester.
“This outstanding academic performance is a tribute to the efforts our talented and highly motivated student-athletes direct towards their academic pursuits, the priority placed on academic achievement by our coaches, and the support they receive from our dedicated Morgan Academic Center staff, faculty and administration,” said Sandy Barbour, Director of Athletics. “We are striving every day at Penn State to providing conditions for our student-athletes to develop as well-rounded and educated citizens who will make a positive impact in their communities as well as after their graduation.”
The tremendous academic success during the most recent semester continues the significant upward track in the number of Penn State student-athletes earning a 3.0 GPA during the spring semester over the past five years:
Robby Creese
Penn State Student-Athletes With 3.0 GPA; Spring semester, 2011-15
Spring 2015 – 474 (record)
Spring 2014 – 461
Spring 2013 – 450
Spring 2012 – 391
Spring 2011 – 354
The 474 and 221 achievers give Penn State its two highest 3.0 and Dean’s List semester totals all-time during the 2014-15 academic year. This past fall, a record 500 student-athletes earned at least a 3.0 GPA, with 241 garnering Dean’s List honors.
The efforts of the student-athletes resulted in a combined average GPA of 3.11 among Penn State’s 31 varsity sports during the spring semester, up from a 3.08 average last fall. A total of 21 teams earned a semester GPA of 3.0 or higher, tied for the third-highest total in school history.
Penn State Student-Athletes earning Dean’s List honors; Spring semester, 2011-15 (3.5 GPA; minimum 12 credits) Spring 2015 – 221 (record)
Spring 2014 – 205
Spring 2013 – 189
Spring 2012 – 172
Spring 2011 – 165
The spring semester performance adds to another banner academic and athletic year for Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. Nittany Lion student-athletes, who have captured 19 Big Ten Championships and five NCAA titles since September 2012, consistently have been among the most successful in the nation in earning their degrees and academic success. Among some of the recent academic accomplishments are:
– A total of 277 student-athletes garnered Academic All-Big Ten accolades in 2014-15. Penn State has earned a total of 5,039 Academic All-Big Ten honorees during its 22 years of full membership in the conference.
– Matt Brown (wrestling) and Laura Gebhart (field hockey) were selected first-team CoSIDA At-Large Academic All-Americans, with Brown earning the Academic All-American of the Year for all sports. Robby Creese (men’s track and field) was a third-team honoree. Penn State’s 189 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans all-time rank No. 3 among Division I institutions.
– Brown, the Nittany Lions’ Male Student-Athlete of the Year for 2014-15, also earned a prestigious NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship, Penn State’s 46th such recipient.
– A total of 101 student-athletes graduated this past spring, the second-highest total in school history, and 128 have graduated so far during this year, with more graduates expected in August.
– In May, the NCAA reported that six Penn State teams have perfect four-year Academic Progress Rate scores of 1,000 and that 10 Nittany Lion squads earned perfect APR scores in 2013-14.
– Last October, the NCAA’s annual study of institutions across the nation revealed Penn State student-athletes at the University Park campus earned a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 89 percent compared to the 82 percent average for all Division I institutions. The 89 percent figure was second-highest, to Northwestern, among Big Ten Conference institutions.
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