Penn State football graduation rate third-highest among public institutions, bowl teams

Photo: Chris Koleno Two-time All-American senior linebacker Paul Posluszny will play his final game as a Nittany Lion in the Outback Bowl. For more photos, click on the image above.

University Park, Pa. -- The outstanding graduation performance by Penn State's student-athletes, 83 percent according to the recent NCAA graduation rate report, is further accentuated by the efforts of the Nittany Lion football team, which has the third-highest graduation rate (83 percent) among the nation's public institutions that play Division I-A football.

Compiled by Penn State from the "2006 NCAA Division I Graduation Rates Report," the figures show Coach Joe Paterno's team had the seventh-highest graduation rate overall among all of the nation's 119 Division I-A programs, including the best among Big Ten Conference institutions. Kent State (86 percent) and Nebraska (84 percent) were the only public institutions with a rate higher than Penn State's.

Northwestern (79 percent) and Iowa (72) were second and third, respectively, among Big Ten football teams. The national average is 55 percent.

The Nittany Lions' 83 percent federal graduation rate also is third-highest among the 64 schools playing in a 2006-07 bowl game. Boston College (92 percent) and Nebraska were the only bowl teams with a higher graduation rate than Penn State, which will meet No. 17 Tennessee in the Outback Bowl on New Year's Day.

For the third time in the past five years, Penn State's student-athletes posted the highest graduation rate among all Division I-A public institutions. The 83 percent federal rate is tied for Penn State's best performance in the 16-year history of the NCAA report, along with the entering classes of 1997-98 and 1989-90.

According to the NCAA data, for student-athletes entering the University in 1999-2000, Penn State’s graduation rate (83 percent) was sixth-highest overall among the nation's Division I-A institutions. The national average was 64 percent.

Penn State's four-year football graduation rate (for players entering 1996-99) of 76 percent was tied for 10th-highest among I-A institutions and tied for second-best among public institutions. Only Ball State (78 percent) was higher among publics.

Penn State trailed only Northwestern (79 percent) for the best four-year football rate among Big Ten institutions. The next-closest league school was Michigan at 63 percent. The national four-year average is 55 percent.

For African-American football players entering in 1999-2000, the Nittany Lions' posted a graduation figure of 71 percent to easily exceed the 49 percent national average. Penn State's four-year graduation rate for African-American players was 72 percent, 23 points higher than the national average.

Seven members of the 2006 Nittany Lion squad had graduated prior to the start of the 2006 season and an additional 12 players are on schedule to graduate this month.

During Paterno's tenure, Penn State has had 35 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans (26 first team), 15 National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Scholar-Athletes and 18 NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship winners.

Senior linebacker Paul Posluszny was selected the 2006 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year and was a National Football Foundation Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete. Senior defensive end Tim Shaw also earned first team Academic All-America honors this year and senior safety Nolan McCready was a second team Academic All-American.

The Nittany Lions have had 190 Academic All-Big Ten football honorees since starting Conference play in 1993, tops among all Big Ten institutions.

The NCAA Graduation Rates Report documented the entering freshman class of 1999-2000 who earned degrees within six years. The report is produced annually from data collected by the U.S. Department of Education.

For photos of the Nittany Lions getting ready to head off to the Outback Bowl, check Penn State Live at http://live.psu.edu/still_life/2006_12_15_outback/index.html