UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State wide receiver Dan Chisena and punter Blake Gillikin were honored for their academic achievements, as they were named to the National Football Foundation's (NFF) 2020 Hampshire Honor Society, it was announced on Wednesday.
In order to be considered for membership in the Hampshire Honor Society, a player must be a starter or significant contributor in his last year of eligibility and maintains a cumulative 3.2 grade point average or higher throughout the course of his undergraduate study at an accredited NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III, or an NAIA college or university.
Chisena graduated in December with a degree in Security and Risk Analysis and posted a 3.63 cumulative GPA. On top of being an Academic All-Big Ten honoree in 2019, he was the team's winner of the Ridge Riley Memorial Award for sportsmanship, scholarship, leadership and friendship as a senior. He also joined Gillikin in earning the Nittany Lion Club Academic Achievement Award, for having the highest senior GPA on the team. Chisena appeared in 12 games in 2019, making two starts, and earned Penn State's John Bruno Award, given to an outstanding member of the special teams unit.
Gillikin, who has a 4.0 cumulative GPA and is majoring in Kinesiology, became 12th Penn State football player to be a two-time, first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American. The Smyrna, Georgia native and 2019 team captain finished his career tied for second on Penn State's career punting average charts (43.03) and landed 53 punts downed inside the opponent's 10-yard line (seven in 2016, 18 in 2017, 12 in 2018, 15 in 2019). Gillikin is the only player in program history with seven punts of 65 or more yards and the only player with four 70-plus yard punts in a season or career. He became the second Nittany Lion to reach the 10,000-career punt yard mark, joining Jeremy Kapinos (10,476; 2003-06).
The NFF Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the NFF's current National Scholar-Athlete program by greatly expanding the number of student-athletes the NFF can recognize each year. Jon F. Hanson, the chairman and founder of The Hampshire Companies and NFF Chairman Emeritus, provided the endowment to launch the NFF Hampshire Honor Society in 2007. Celebrating its 14th year in 2020, the initiative has previously honored 10,695 student-athletes since its inception.
For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and reserving new season tickets for the 2020 Penn State Football season presented by PSECU, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com or call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
