Jan. 29, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., - The Penn State football team produced another outstanding academic performance during the Fall 2009 semester, with nearly 50 squad members earning at least a 3.0 grade point average. Among the 49 Nittany Lions, 17 earned Dean's List recognition by posting a 3.5 GPA or higher this past semester.
The total of 49 high achievers is third-highest in program history, trailing only 55 (Fall, 2008) and 50 in Fall, 2004. The total of 17 Nitany Lions that made the Dean's List is tied for second-highest (tied with Spring, 2008), trailing only the 19 honorees from the 2008 Fall semester.
All three of Penn State's 2009 first team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American® earned a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall semester -- senior linebacker Josh Hull (Millheim), senior kick snapper Andrew Pitz (Bettendorf, Iowa) and junior center Stefen Wisniewski (Bridgeville).
A member of the Schreyer Honors College, Wisniewski brings a cumulative 3.90 GPA in secondary education into the 2010 spring semester. The 2009 third team All-American will have an opportunity to become Penn State's initial three-time Academic All-American®.
Freshman offensive lineman John Urschel (Williamsville, N.Y.) also earned a 4.0 GPA to lead 16 true freshmen that earned a 3.0 or higher last fall. A total football student-athletes had a 3.7 GPA or higher during the semester.
The superlative academic performance brings the number of Nittany Lion football student-athletes to 43 who had a cumulative 3.0 GPA through the fall, just off the record total of 46 from the 2004 and 2008 Fall semesters.
Among some of the other Dean's List football student-athletes last fall were: Jesse Alfreno (Grove City), Brett Brackett (Lawrenceville, N.J.), Chris Colasanti (Leonard, Mich.), Ty Howle (Wake Forest, N.C.), Kyle Johnson (Landenberg), Matt Kenney (State College), Pete Massaro (Newtown Square), Shane McGregor (Ebensburg) and Nate Stupar (State College).
The superlative academic performance is the latest success in a long line of academic achievement for members of Joe Paterno's program, who consistently are near the top nationally in academic success:
- Penn State's 89 percent federal graduation rate and 85 percent Graduation Success Rate led all teams ranked in the final 2009 Associated Press Top 25 poll, according to NCAA data released in November, 2009.
- The past two years, Penn State has led all Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams in first team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans®. During the 2009 season, three Nittany Lions repeated their Academic All-America® accolades: (Hull, Pitz and Wisniewski). A program record five Nittany Lions were selected to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® team. Penn State has had 12 Academic All-Americans® (10 first team) over the past four years.
During Paterno's tenure, Penn State has had 44 Academic All-Americans®, with 34 earning first team honors. The Nittany Lions' all-time total of 46 Academic All-America® football players ranks third among all FBS institutions and leads all Big Ten schools.
- Sixteen players on the 2009 Penn State squad had graduated prior to the Nittany Lions' Capital One Bowl win over LSU, with nine doing so before the season began.
The Nittany Lions are 51-13 (79.7) since the start of the 2005 season, tied for the nation's No. 7 winning percentage over that span. Penn State returns 13 starters for the 2010 season, (7 offense, 5 defense, 1 specialist), as well as 11 players that have starting experience.