UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State student-athletes John Harrar (men's basketball) and Natalie Heising (women's ice hockey) were among the 28 honorees named Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners for the 2021-22 academic year, as announced by the conference office Tuesday. 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.
John Harrar
Harrar earns the Big Ten's Outstanding Sportsmanship Award for the second-straight season after wrapping up his career as the undisputed heart and soul of the Nittany Lions.
Harrar epitomized what it means to be a Penn Stater throughout his time in Happy Valley, consistently bringing a strong leadership presence, outstanding work ethic and positive attitude that were each praised by opposing coaches and national media alike. His trademark toughness helped him develop into one of the best big men in the conference as a two-time All-Big Ten honorable mention selection who graduates No. 2 all-time in program history in career field goal percentage (59.6%), No. 5 all-time in career rebounds (854) and as one of just six players in program history with upwards of 800 career points and 800 career rebounds.
"You can't say enough things about that kid," said head coach Micah Shrewsberry after a Nittany Lion win this season. "There's a lot of things that you can say, how great of a player he is, how great of a person he is, his unbelievable will and fight. He's one of the toughest dudes I've ever been around. That's how a culture gets built. That's how a great program starts to form. ... I'll say it all the time — he was a huge reason for where this culture is going. He may not reap the benefits of that, but he'll know, and the guys in our program a long time from now will know — this is how it started. And it started with John."
A four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Harrar earned his bachelor's degree in business management in May 2021 and master's degree in management and organizational leadership in May 2022. Harrar wrapped up his career in the Blue & White as a 2022 Big Ten Medal of Honor Recipient, two-time Outstanding Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner, a top-30 candidate for the Senior CLASS Award and Penn State's Ernest B. McCoy Memorial Award winner.
Natalie Heising
Heising, a three-time captain for the Penn State women's hockey team, led the Nittany Lions' program to new heights in her career and capped off her fifth season with Penn State in 2021-22 in sterling fashion. She became Penn State's all-time leading scorer with 147 career points and 74 career goals and tied for the program career lead with 63 assists. Her consistency and lead-by-example tenacity were on display for her entire career as she recorded at least 20 points in all her seasons at Penn State, including a program-record 40 points in the 2021-22 campaign, which earned her College Hockey America (CHA) Player of the Year honors.
A leader on and off the ice, Heising received Penn State's prestigious John W. Oswald award in April 2022, which annually recognizes graduating seniors who have provided outstanding leadership in at least one of several areas of activity at the University. Heising also was given her second consecutive CHA Individual Sportsmanship Award in 2021-22 for her leadership and representation of Penn State as a student-athlete. An excellent student, Heising named to the CHA All-Academic Team and All-Big Ten Academic Team the past two years. She received her chemical engineering degree upon her graduation in May 2022.
Penn State Among the Nation's Premier Athletic Programs in Comprehensive Excellence
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.
