UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa – Penn State senior student-athletes Nick Lee (wrestling) and Kayleigh Semion (women's basketball) were among the 28 honorees named Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners for the 2019-20 academic year. The pair were chosen from a group of 350 students honored throughout the academic year who had displayed positive sportsmanship.
One member of each varsity sports team on every campus was chosen by his or her institution as a Sportsmanship Award honoree, and two Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners were then selected from each institution. All of the Sportsmanship Award winners have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, these honorees must be in good academic standing and must have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
Lee, who was to be the No. 2 seed at this year's NCAA Championship before the event was cancelled by the NCAA, has been a leader on the Nittany Lions on and off the mat for three seasons. From the middle of his true freshman year when he had his redshirt pulled and went on to earn All-America honors, Lee has been the consummate teammate for head coach Cael Sanderson and the Nittany Lions. An outstanding leader both on the mat and in the classroom, Lee leads by example and is cited by the Lion coaching staff as one of Penn State's most disciplined wrestlers. Lee is a three-time National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National All-Academic honoree and a two-time Academic All-Big Ten pick.
Semion proved the value of hard work and dedication throughout her time at Penn State. She began her career as a club basketball player and team manager before earning a roster spot during the 2017-18 season. A consummate teammate, Semion made an impact both on and off the court for the Lady Lions and took on whatever role she was asked to. She provided a crucial spark off the bench and consistently performed as one of the team's hardest-working student-athletes at practice. Semion was a member of Penn State's Athletic Director's Leadership Veteran Leaders program and heavily involved in all of the Lady Lions' community service initiatives. A true student-athlete, the Dunmore, Pennsylvania native is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. She graduated in May with a master's degree in management and organizational leadership. She received her bachelor's in kinesiology in August 2019.
Penn State Among the Nation's Most Comprehensive and Successful Athletic Programs
Under the leadership of Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Sandy Barbour, Penn State has one of the nation's most comprehensive and successful athletic programs, featuring 800 student-athletes across 31 varsity programs (16 men's, 15 women's). The Nittany Lions' 31 programs are tied for the fourth-highest number of sports sponsored by a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institution.
Penn State student-athletes have led the athletic department to 34 Big Ten championships and nine NCAA National Championships since October 2013. The Nittany Lions have finished in the top 15 of the Learfield IMG College Director's Cup 19 times in the last 26 years (the Director's Cup was not awarded in 2019-20).
Record-Breaking NCAA Graduation Success Rate
The 2019 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 91 percent to break the school's all-time record of 90, which was previously set in the 2010, 2017 and 2018 NCAA reports. Nittany Lion students posted a 91 percent graduation rate compared to the 88 percent average for all Division I institutions for students entering from 2009-10 through the 2012-13 academic year.
Penn State student-athletes have delivered a Graduation Success Rate in the 88-91 percent range during each of the past 13 NCAA reports, improving from 88 percent in the 2015 report, to 89 percent in 2016, to 90 percent in 2017 and 2018, and a record-breaking 91 percent figure in 2019. Ten Nittany Lion programs earned 100% graduation rates and 18 programs were above the national average.
