Nov. 17, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's basketball program has once again earned a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 100 percent, according to statistical information released by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), this week. The Nittany Lion program had a 100 percent graduation success rate for the fourth-consecutive year and is the only Big Ten men's basketball team with a perfect score in the 2016 NCAA Graduation Rates report.
For the 12th-consecutive year, every year the GSR data has been released, Nittany Lion basketball earned four-year Graduation Success Rates at least three points higher than the national average for its sport. The men's basketball graduation figure was 24 points higher than the Division I average in the 2016 NCAA report and 20 points above the Big Ten sport average.
"Maintaining academic success and graduating our players is always a primary priority for our program," Patrick Chambers, head coach of the Nittany Lions, said. "We pride ourselves on helping our players succeed both on the court and in the classroom and look for these stellar graduation rates to continue."
Recent academic success points to the trend staying positive. Three seniors on the men's basketball roster last season - Jordan Dickerson, Donovon Jack Brandon Taylor - graduated before pursuing professional playing careers overseas. In fact, six of seven former Nittany Lions who were on pro rosters at the start of the season received their degrees first, including two-time Penn State graduate Tim Frazier with the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans. The seventh, Devin Foster, is in the process of completing his education.
The 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 89 percent compared to the 84 percent average for all Division I institutions for students entering from 2006-07 through the 2009-10 academic year. The 89 percent figure is just one point off Penn State's 90 percent all-time graduation record mark.
The men's basketball program was among seven Penn State squads to earn a Graduation Success Rate of 100 percent, an increase of two from five last year. It joins the field hockey, women's golf, women's gymnastics, men's soccer, softball and women's tennis teams with a 100 percent GSR.
"Every day, in everything they do, our student-athletes, coaches, staff and administration, strive for excellence in the classroom, athletic venues and community," Penn State Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour said of the department's overall successes. "These outstanding graduation rates tell an important part of our story, and serve as concrete evidence of our commitment and focus on academics, and our students' preparation for life beyond Penn State. Every aspect of Penn State is committed to academic success for our students, and we are grateful for the focused effort on their behalf."
The GSR is the NCAA's more inclusive calculation of academic success among scholarship student-athletes. The NCAA rate is more accurate than the federally mandated methodology because it includes incoming transfers and students enrolling in the spring semester who receive athletic aid and graduate, and deletes from the calculation student-athletes who leave an institution and were academically eligible to compete. The federal rate does neither.