UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – One hundred sixty-six Penn State student athletes are scheduled to graduate this weekend during the Penn State Commencement ceremonies. The 166 student-athletes intending to graduate adds to the 33 who graduated in the winter ceremonies, bringing the 2024-25 academic year total to 199 graduates.
Twenty-seven teams boast names on the intent to graduate list. All but one team will be represented at the ceremonies, as men’s lacrosse continues into the post season this weekend in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Track and Field leads the way on both the men’s and women’s side, with 17 and 12 student-athletes, respectively.
Wrestling’s Carter Starocci is slated to graduate this weekend after becoming the only five-time NCAA Champion in the sport’s history. His national titles earned him five All-American honors over the course of his career. Women’s track and field’s Florence Canon is also scheduled to graduate after earning her second consecutive All-American honors in the indoor season in mid-March.
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 93% NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and 11 programs earned perfect 100% ratings. This is the eighth consecutive year the Nittany Lions posted a record or record-tying performance in the classroom, 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 93% to equal the school’s all-time record of 93%, which was set in the 2023 NCAA report. Nittany Lion students posted a 93% graduation rate compared to the 90% average for all Division I institutions for student-athletes entering from 2014-15 academic year through the 2017-18 academic year.
Penn State student-athletes have logged a Graduation Success Rate in the 88-93% range during each of the past 18 NCAA reports, improving from 88% in the 2015 report to a record-tying 93% report in the 2024 report.
Penn State Among the Nation's Most Comprehensive and Successful Athletic Programs
Under the leadership of Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics, Dr. 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.