11 Nittany Lions intend to graduate Saturday
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Eleven Penn State student-athletes are scheduled to graduate Saturday, August 15 during the virtual commencement ceremony.
The 11 student-athletes on the intent to graduate following the summer semester bring the 2019-20 academic year total to 155 graduates.
Three hundred and fifty Nittany Lions earned Academic All-Big Ten honors during the 2019-20 year. Each student-athlete possessed a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. The Big Ten also honored a school-record 144 Penn State student-athletes as Big Ten Distinguished Scholars for recording a minimum GPA of 3.7 for the 2019-20 academic year.
Penn State has earned 207 CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in program history. Prior to the 2019-20 school year, Penn State ranked fourth all-time amongst NCAA Division I institutions in CoSIDA Academic All-America honorees.
Among those on the intent to graduate list are 2019 National Champion Danae Rivers (track & field) and 2020 CGA All-American Isaac Hammett.
Also on the intent to graduate list are two former Nittany Lions Andrew Sturtz (men’s hockey, 2015-19) and Fawn Dorr (track & field, 2008-10).
Penn State Among the Nation’s Most Comprehensive and Successful Athletic Programs
Under the leadership of Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Sandy Barbour, Penn State has one of the nation’s most comprehensive and successful athletic programs, featuring 800 student-athletes across 31 varsity programs (16 men’s, 15 women’s). The Nittany Lions’ 31 programs are tied for the fourth-highest number of sports sponsored by a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institution.
Record-Breaking NCAA Graduation Success Rate
The 2019 NCAA’s annual graduation rates study of institutions across the nation revealed Penn State student-athletes at the University Park campus earned a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 91 percent to break the school’s all-time record of 90, which was previously set in the 2010, 2017 and 2018 NCAA reports. Nittany Lion students posted a 91 percent graduation rate compared to the 88 percent average for all Division I institutions for students entering from 2009-10 through the 2012-13 academic year.
Penn State student-athletes have delivered a Graduation Success Rate in the 88-91 percent range during each of the past 13 NCAA reports, improving from 88 percent in the 2015 report, to 89 percent in 2016, to 90 percent in 2017 and 2018, and a record-breaking 91 percent figure in 2019. Ten Nittany Lion programs earned 100% graduation rates and 18 programs were above the national average.
Penn State student-athletes have led the athletic department to 34 Big Ten championships and nine NCAA National Championships since October 2013. The Nittany Lions have finished in the top 15 of the Learfield IMG College Director’s Cup 19 times in the last 26 years (the Director’s Cup was not awarded in 2019-20).
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