UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Nineteen Penn State student-athletes are scheduled to graduate Saturday, December 17 during commencement ceremonies.
The Nittany Lion student-athletes represent nine sports on the intent to graduate list. The football program leads the way with seven student-athletes, while baseball, men's swimming, wrestling, field hockey, women's soccer, women's lacrosse, softball and women's volleyball all have student-athletes who are slated to earn degrees Saturday.
During the 2022 calendar year, 189 Nittany Lions earned their degrees (142, Spring 2022; 28, Summer 2021; 19, Fall 2021).
Total of 14 football student-athletes have earned 19 degrees prior to the Rose Bowl
With the seven new graduates on Saturday, the Nittany Lions football team has 14 student-athletes who have earned 19 degrees prior to the Rose Bowl vs. Utah on January 2. Ji'Ayir Brown, Sean Clifford, Bryce Effner, Charlie Katshir, Cody Romano, Juice Scruggs and Jonathan Sutherland are all slated to graduate this weekend.
2022 Fall Academic All-Big Ten Honorees
The Penn State athletic department records 109 student-athletes earning Academic All-Big Ten honors for the fall semester. Katherine Asman (women's soccer), Amanda Poorbaugh (women's soccer), Julia Raich (women's soccer) and Margery Schnarrs (field hockey) all finished with perfect, 4.0 GPAs.
Graduation Success Rates
Penn State student-athletes continue to register record-breaking graduation rates and perform well above their peers nationwide. The Nittany Lions posted a record-tying 92% NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and 10 programs earned perfect 100% ratings. This is the sixth consecutive year the Nittany Lions have posted a record or record-tying performance in the classroom, according to data reported by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Penn State is one of only five schools that have won at least 10 NCAA Championships since 2013 and earned at least a 90 percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in the 2022 NCAA report (Stanford, Florida, USC, Virginia).
Penn State Among the Nation's Most Comprehensive and Successful Athletic Programs
Under the leadership of Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Patrick Kraft 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.
