UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa – Penn State student-athletes continue to excel in the classroom and surpass Division I national averages, according to Academic Progress Rate (APR) data released today by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The NCAA reported a school-record-tying 20 Penn State teams earned perfect APR scores of 1,000 during the 2020-21 academic year, equaling the record mark set in each of the last two reports. Penn State's all-sport APR average for 2020-21 was 991, which meets one of the academic achievement unit benchmarks for the NCAA.
A total of 20 teams (out of 29 – indoor and outdoor track and field are combined) equaled or surpassed their multi-year (four-year) APR score from the last public NCAA APR report in May 2020. Fourteen squads have a multi-year APR at least 10 points higher than the Division I all-sport average (984).
Six Teams Post Perfect Multi-Year 1,000 APR Scores
Six Penn State squads earned perfect multi-year (2017-18 through 2020-21) APR scores of 1,000: men's golf, men's gymnastics, women's fencing, women's golf, women's gymnastics and women's lacrosse. The women's golf team has posted a multi-year 1,000 APR score nine times.
"Earning a degree while competing at the highest collegiate level is an incredible accomplishment. Congratulations to all the student-athletes, coaches, advisors, trainers and faculty members who have achieved excellence and raised the bar for all student-athletes," said Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi. "I'm so proud of the Nittany Lions, who have brought honor to our great institution yet again. We are Penn State!"
"Through difficult circumstances during the 2020-21 academic year, overall our student-athletes continue to impress me with their dedication to their academics while excelling in competition," stated Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Sandy Barbour. "We hit record numbers again with 20 teams having a perfect 1,000 yearly APR score, which would not be attainable without the hard work for our student-athletes, but also the efforts of our coaches, Morgan Academic Center staff, faculty and support staff. We continue to prepare our students for a lifetime of impact and this great APR report shows our students take pride in having a complete student-athlete experience."
School-Record-Tying Twenty Teams Earn Perfect 1,000 APR Scores in 2020-21
The 20 Penn State teams earned perfect APR scores of 1,000 in 2020-21 are: baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, women's cross country, men's fencing, women's fencing, field hockey, men's golf, women's golf, men's gymnastics, women's gymnastics, men's hockey, women's hockey, women's lacrosse, men's soccer, softball, men's tennis, women's tennis, men's volleyball and women's volleyball.
The women's fencing, men's golf and women's golf teams have perfect 1,000 yearly APR scores in six consecutive reports.
Nittany Lions' Multi-Year APR Average Again Exceeds Division I Average
The average multi-year APR score for Penn State's 29 varsity teams is 988, above the Division I average of 984, according to the NCAA. The men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field teams are combined in the APR data, reducing the number of Penn State teams from 31 to 29 in the compilation.
The Penn State women's tennis team has earned 12 multi-year 1,000 APR scores in the 16 years the NCAA has announced multi-year data. The field hockey, women's cross country and women's golf squads have earned nine multi-year 1,000 APR scores.
Men's Fencing Up 29 Points; Women's Gymnastics Jumps 25 Points
The Penn State squads that delivered the biggest improvements to their multi-year APR scores from the last public NCAA APR report in May 2020 were: men's fencing (+29), women's gymnastics (+25), men's soccer (+17), women's basketball (+15), men's tennis (+12), men's volleyball (+11), softball (+10), men's swimming & diving (+8), men's basketball (+6), baseball (+5), field hockey (+5), men's gymnastics (+5) and women's lacrosse (+2).
Penn State Teams with Multi-Year APR 10+ Points Higher Than Division I Sport Average (through 2020-21)
| APR | Div. I Avg. | Difference | |
| Baseball | 995 | 977 | +18 |
| Women's Fencing | 1000 | 987 | +13 |
| Men's Golf | 1000 | 988 | +12 |
| Women's Track & Field | 996 | 984 | +12 |
| Men's Hockey | 997 | 986 | +11 |
Overall Highlights from Penn State's Academic Progress Report for 2020-21:
- Penn State's overall single-year average APR is 991.
- Twenty teams had a multi-year APR higher than the NCAA overall average score of 984.
- Seven Penn State teams – baseball, men's golf, men's gymnastics, women's fencing, women's golf, women's gymnastics, women's lacrosse – finished in the top 10 percent nationally for their respective sport through the 2020-21 academic year (data from 2017-18 through 2020-21).
- Among Penn State's 29 varsity teams (track & field combined), 20 have a score equal to or above the NCAA Division I multi-year average for their respective sport.
Academic Progress Rate
The NCAA released data through 2020-21 as the 17th set of APR results, a formula introduced as part of the Division I Academic Performance Program. The NCAA released sport-specific data for 2020-21 to each institution, as well as the most recent four years of collected data used to determine a rolling four-year (multi-year) APR score for all athletic teams to provide a meaningful assessment of a team's academic performance.
The NCAA's APR is designed to track the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship at a particular institution. It accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation each term to provide a clear measure of each team's academic performance.
The APR is based on four years of data, with the most current year's data added and the oldest year removed, to create a four-year (multi-year) rolling rate. Penalties can be applied if an athletic team's multi-year APR score is below 930.
Penn State Among the Nation's Premier Athletic Programs in Comprehensive Excellence
Under Barbour's leadership, 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.
Nittany Lion students have posted an NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of program-record 92 percent in the most recent report. Ten teams earned a 100 percent graduation rate in the 2021 NCAA Graduation Rates Report. The Nittany Lions rank No. 4 among all Division I schools with 213 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans all-time.
Penn State student-athletes have led the athletic department to 47 Big Ten championships and nine NCAA National Championships since October 2013. Penn State is one of only five schools that have won at least 10 NCAA Championships since 2012 and earned at least a 90 percent Graduation Success Rate in the 2021 NCAA report (Stanford, Florida, USC, Virginia). The Nittany Lions rank fifth in the Learfield IMG College Director's Cup following the fall season.
Record-Breaking NCAA Graduation Success Rate
The 2021 NCAA graduation rate 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% to tie the school's all-time record of 92, which was previously set in the 2020 NCAA report. Nittany Lion students posted a 92% graduation rate compared to the 89% average for all Division I institutions for students entering from 2011-12 through the 2014-15 academic year.
Penn State student-athletes have logged a Graduation Success Rate in the 88-92% range during each of the past 15 NCAA reports, improving from 88% in the 2015 report to a record-breaking 92% report in 2020 and 2021. 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 18 Penn State squads have a GSR of 90% or higher.