UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Thirty-five Penn State student-athletes are scheduled to graduate on Saturday, December 19 during a virtual commencement ceremony. The 35 student-athletes on the intent to graduate list follow 155 graduates during the 2019-20 academic year.
Penn State recently had 114 student-athletes named to the Academic All-Big Ten list for the Nittany Lions' fall programs, raising its total to 7,076 academic honorees since 1991-92. The 114 fall honorees are the second most in Penn State's fall history.
Fourteen Penn State programs will be represented at Saturday's graduation with the football program having 10 student-athletes on the intent to graduate list. During the 2020 calendar year, 172 Nittany Lions earned their degrees (Spring-125, Summer-11, Fall-35).
Among those on the intent to graduate list are former Nittany Lions Christian Hackenberg (football), Shepard Garner (men's basketball), Zachary Saar (men's hockey), Peter Russell (men's volleyball) and Candice Agee (women's basketball).
Record-Breaking NCAA Graduation Success Rate
The Nittany Lions recorded a fourth consecutive record academic performance with a 92 percent graduation success rate, according to data reported by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The NCAA's annual graduation rates report of Division I institutions across the nation revealed Penn State student-athletes at the University Park campus earned a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 92 percent to break the school's all-time record of 91, which was previously set in the 2019 NCAA report. Nittany Lion students posted a 92 percent graduation rate compared to the 88 percent average for all Division I institutions for students entering from 2010-11 through the 2013-14 academic year.
Penn State student-athletes have logged a Graduation Success Rate in the 88-92 percent range during each of the past 14 NCAA reports, improving from 88 percent in the 2015 report to a record-breaking 92 percent report in 2020.
Sixteen of the Nittany Lions' 27 teams (men's and women's track and field/cross country teams combined) earned a Graduation Success Rate at or above the Division I national GSR average for their respective sport. A total of 17 Penn State squads have a GSR of 90 percent or higher.
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.