| The women's gymnastics team earned highest team GPA. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., April 24, 2007 - The 20th Annual Academic Achievement Awards Banquet was held Monday night in the Bryce Jordan Center and the Nittany Lion women's gymnastics team was presented with the team award for highest grade-point average during the 2005-06 academic year to highlight a record-setting year for Penn State student-athletes.
The event was held in conjunction with National Student-Athlete Day.
The members of Penn State??s 29 varsity programs combined to earn an overall 3.10 grade point average in 2005-06.
The women's gymnastics team, coached by Steve Shephard, has earned the highest team GPA four times since 1988. The squad finished second at this year??s Big Ten Championships and missed a berth in the NCAA Championships by .050 points.
Sponsored by the Milton and Lois Morgan Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes and the Student-Athlete Advisory Board (SAAB), a total of 280 awards were presented to 224 student-athletes for their academic accomplishments in 2005-06. All 224 honorees earned a 3.00 grade point average or higher during the 2005-06 academic year.
Presentations also were made to 62 seniors who had a 3.0 or higher cumulative GPA through the Fall 2006 semester.
Former Penn State wrestling standout Ken Chertow and women??s volleyball player Tomuke Ebuwei were the guest speakers. Chertow was the first president of Penn State??s Student-Athlete Advisory Board (SAAB), while Ebuwei served as SAAB??s 11th president.
Sixteen teams earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better. The performance of Penn State's 14 women's programs was particularly notable, earning a combined 3.26 GPA during 2005-06. There are approximately 750 Penn State student-athletes on 29 varsity teams.
| Aaron Anspach, True Grit Award winner. |
The Nittany Lion Club presented its True Grit Award to two student-athletes for overcoming adversities during their careers. The recipients were senior wrestler Aaron Anspach (Columbia), the 2007 NCAA runner-up at heavyweight, and senior Claire Hawley (Barnstable, Mass.), who qualified for two NCAA Championships.
| Claire Hawley, True Grit Award winner. |
The Varsity "S" Award was presented for the sixth time. The honor goes to the women's and men's teams with the highest team GPA. This year's recipients were the women's gymnastics team and the men's soccer squad, coached by Barry Gorman.
The THON awards were presented to the student-athlete and team that raised the most donations for the Four Diamonds Fund and THON. The recipients were senior women??s soccer All-American and team captain Ali Krieger (Dumfries, Va,) and Coach Buffy Baker??s women's tennis team.
The CHAMPS Cup Awards for community outreach were presented for the second time, with winners selected for squads with 20 or fewer squad members (women's basketball) and squads with more than 20 squad members (field hockey). Both teams also won the award last year.
Penn State's student-athletes, who have won nine Big Ten Championships and two NCAA titles during the past two years, consistently have been among the nation's most successful in earning their degrees.
| The men's soccer team received the Varsity "S" Award which is presented to the women's and men's teams with the highest team GPA. |
Among the 1999-2000 entering freshman class, a record-tying 83 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??s 2006 Graduation Rates Report.
For the third time in the past five years, Penn State was tied for the highest graduation rate among the nation??s I-A public institutions.
Penn State??s 81 percent four-year graduation rate is well above the national average of 63 percent for student-athletes. The four-year average was second highest in the Big Ten to Northwestern.
During the 2006 Fall semester, 194 Penn State student-athletes earned a 3.50 grade point average or higher to gain Dean??s List recognition. The total represents a record-tying 27 percent of the 717 young men and women who were members of Penn State??s 29 varsity sports. Dean??s List students must complete a minimum of 12 credits in a semester.
A total of 433 student-athletes earned a GPA of 3.0 or above last semester, the third-highest total, just nine off the record of 442 from the 2003 fall semester and two below the 2005 fall term total of 435. The 433 total represents a record-tying 60 percent of active student-athletes, equaling the mark set in the fall of 2003 and ??04.
| The women's gymnastics team also received the Varsity "S" Award which is presented to the women's and men's teams with the highest team GPA. |