May 24, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., - Penn State student-athletes continue to make better progress toward graduation in comparison with the nation's Division I institutions, despite higher academic standards than required, according to data released today by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Five Penn State squads earned perfect multi-year APR scores of 1,000: field hockey, softball, men's cross country, women's cross country and women's tennis. Field hockey and women's tennis are among the 10 percent of the nation's 6,422 NCAA teams in the 2009-10 survey that earned a four-year APR score of 1,000.
The average multi-year APR score for Penn State's 29 varsity teams is 982, well above the Division I average of 970, according to the NCAA.
The Nittany Lion and Lady Lion basketball teams both have improved their APR score by 20 points or more from the 2009 NCAA report and are well above the national Division I averages for their sport.
The NCAA released data from the 2009-10 academic year as the seventh set of results in the Academic Progress Rate (APR), a formula introduced as part of the Division I Academic Performance Program. The NCAA released sport specific data for 2009-10 to each institution, as well as the most recent four years of collected data that is used to determine a rolling four-year (multi-year) APR score for all athletic teams to provide a meaningful assessment of a team's academic performance.
Among Penn State's 29 varsity teams, 24 have a four-year APR score at or above the Division I average for all sports. The NCAA did not release institutional APR rates for 2009-10 or the multi-year rate.
A school record nine Nittany Lions squads have multi-year APR scores that rank in the Top 10 percent nationally for their respective sport: Nittany Lion basketball (995), field hockey (1,000), men's cross country (1,000), women's cross country (1,000), men's soccer (992), softball (1,000), men's track and field (997), women's track and field (993) and women's tennis (1,000).
Earlier this month, the nine Penn State squads earned NCAA Public Recognition Awards for having APR scores in the top 10 percent nationally for their respective sport in 2009-10. Penn State's nine honored teams were tied with Northwestern and the Lions have placed no lower than third among Big Ten institutions in total number of NCAA Public Recognition Awards in all six years of the program.
"We are very pleased with the consistently high level of academic achievements of our student-athletes," stated Tim Curley, Director of Athletics. "Their year-in and year-out academic success is a credit to their outstanding work-ethic and dedication. Our coaches deserve recognition for identifying and recruiting student-athletes that are able to excel in the classroom, compete for championships and represent Penn State. The encouragement and guidance our student-athletes receive from our faculty and academic support personnel also are a critical component in our academic successes."
Penn State academic standards (Faculty Senate Policy 67-00) are higher than both the NCAA and Big Ten standards and are reflected in the APR reporting to the NCAA. Nittany Lion student-athletes are required to have passed more credits entering their fifth through eighth semesters than the Big Ten and NCAA require. Penn State student-athletes also must have a higher grade point average than the Big Ten minimum entering their second through sixth semesters.
The APR scores are a measure of eligibility and retention/graduation for each student-athlete receiving athletic aid during the identified academic semester/year. Retention is evaluated for each student-athlete with the following question in mind: Did that student-athlete return to the institution the next semester (students can earn 2 points after the fall semester and 2 points after the spring and summer semesters). Eligibility is evaluated using NCAA, conference (if applicable), and institutional standards.
The APR is based on four years of data, with the most current year's data added and the oldest year removed to create a four-year (multi-year) rolling rate.
Contemporaneous financial aid penalties can be applied if an athletic team's multi-year APR score is below 925. If a team's multi-year score is below 900, that team could be subject to historical penalties.
None of Penn State's 29 varsity sport programs team has a multi-year APR below 925, with all but one squad at 950 or higher.
The Penn State football team has the third-highest multi-year APR score among Big Ten football squads at 972. The Nittany Lions easily surpassed the Football Bowl Subdivision average of 949 and the Division I average of 946.
The Nittany Lion basketball team has a four-year APR score of 995 for the second consecutive year, an increase of 20 points from 2009, and significantly higher than the Division I men's basketball average of 945. Penn State and Michigan State tied for the Big Ten's highest APR figure, marking the fourth consecutive year the Nittany Lions have ranked among the top three in the Big Ten.
The Lady Lion basketball team has a multi-year APR score of 985, an improvement of 23 points from the 2009 report, and well above the public Division I women's basketball average of (968).
Penn State student-athletes, who have captured 27 Big Ten Championships during the past six years and a nation's-best 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.
- The NCAA data also showed that student-athletes from 23 of Penn State's 25 teams (track/cross country teams combined) earned a Graduation Success Rate at or above the national GSR average of 79 percent. Eight Penn State squads earned a Graduation Success Rate of 100 percent and 21 of 25 Nittany Lion teams earned a GSR higher than or equal to the national average 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.
- Penn State's 170 all-time ESPN Academic All-Americans® are tied for third-highest total among all NCAA institutions. Penn State has had 115 Academic All-Americans® since Tim Curley became Director of Athletics in December, 1993, a total higher than any Big Ten institution has all-time since the Academic All-America program's inception in 1952.