UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Two hundred twenty-six Penn State student-athletes earned Spring/At-Large Academic All-Big Ten honors to raise the Nittany Lions yearly total to 446 for 2020-21.
The latest 226 honorees raises Penn State's total academic honorees to 7,399 since 1991-92.
Brenden Franks (baseball), Maria Auth (women's lacrosse), Rachel Spilker (women's lacrosse), Megan Ciasullo (women's track & field), Kathryn Munks (women's track & field), Claire Swedberg (softball) and Nirali Igoe (women's fencing) each maintained perfect 4.0 GPAs.
Penn State Highest Academic All-Big Ten Yearly Totals
(3.0 GPA):
2020-21: 446
2018-19: 368
2017-18: 360
2019-20: 350
2016-17: 299
2015-16: 299
2012-13: 296
2013-14: 287
The Nittany Lions' spring/at-large teams were led overall by women's track & field with 35 honorees. On the men's side, men's lacrosse had 30 honorees earn Academic All-Big Ten plaudits.
Team by Team Honorees
Baseball – 18
Men's Lacrosse – 30
Men's Tennis – 9
Men's Track & Field – 19
Men's Golf – 9
Men's Fencing – 11
Men's Volleyball - 10
Women's Golf – 7
Women's Lacrosse – 25
Women's Tennis – 6
Women's Track & Field – 35
Softball – 16
Women's Hockey – 13
Women's Fencing – 18
One hundred forty Nittany Lions earned their degrees thus far during the 2020-21 academic year with additional graduates to come in August. The total includes 105 graduates earlier in May.
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.