Penn State Nittany Lions

• There are more than 800 Penn State student-athletes, participating in 31 varsity programs (16 men's, 15 women's), tied for the fourth-highest number of sports sponsored by a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institution.
• Penn State is one of 15 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institutions to report it was self-supporting (does not receive funds from the University) during fiscal 2019-20. (Knight Commission)
• Penn State Football has ranked in the top 5 nationally in average home attendance 29 times since 1991. The Nittany Lions ranked second nationally in average home attendance in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022 (2020 fans were not permitted to attend games).
• With an official capacity of 106,572, Beaver Stadium is the second-largest team sports venue in the nation and the third-largest in the world.
• When Penn State Football plays at home, State College becomes the third-largest city in Pennsylvania.

2022-23 Athletic Accomplishments

• The Nittany Lions finished ranked No. 15 in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, which is the highest finish for Penn State since 2018-19.
• Penn State had one National Championship, three NCAA Final Four appearances, nine conference championships, a Rose Bowl Championship, 20 teams make appearances in their respective NCAA Championships and 16 teams were ranked during their season.
• Wrestling continued its dominance by winning its 10th NCAA Championship under Cael Sanderson and 11th overall. Carter Starocci and Aaron Brooks won individual NCAA titles for the third year in a row in Tulsa. In addition, the Nittany Lions claimed the Big Ten Dual Meet Championship and Big Ten Tournament crown thanks in part to four individual champions.
• The football team finished 11-2, capped off by the second Rose Bowl Championship in program history. The team finished No. 7 in the Associated Press and Coaches polls, which tied for the highest final ranking under James Franklin.
• The field hockey program, led by the legendary Char Morett-Curtiss, who retired at the end of the season, won the Big Ten regular-season title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament semifinals for the eighth time in program history. Morett-Curtiss and her staff were selected as the NFHCA Mideast Region Coaching Staff of the Year and four student-athletes were selected as NFHCA All-Americans.
• Men's volleyball spent the majority of the season in the top 4 in the country, peaking at No. 1 and finishing No. 3. Mark Pavlik's squad fell in a five-set thriller in the National Semifinals to Hawaii. The team had seven AVCA All-Americans as they claimed both the EIVA regular-season and tournament titles.
• Men's lacrosse started the season unranked, but proved the doubters wrong by reaching the NCAA Semifinals where they lost a tough OT game to No. 1 seed Duke. The Nittany Lions finished No. 4 in the Inside Lacrosse poll.
• Women’s soccer won its ninth Big Ten Tournament championship, which helped propel them to the round of 16 in the NCAA Championships. Ally Schlegel dominated on the field and in the classroom, earning United Soccer Coaches Association All-America and College Sports Communicators Academic All-America accolades.
• Women's volleyball finished 11th in the AVCA poll and advanced to the NCAA Tournament regional (round of 16) in Wisconsin under first-year head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley.
• The men's basketball team put together a terrific season with just the 12th 20-win season in program history. The Nittany Lions won their first NCAA Tournament game since 2001 and made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011.
• Women's hockey won their second CHA regular-season title and first CHA Tournament crown on the way to earning their first NCAA Tournament bid. Jeff Kampersal and his squad finished 10th in the final USCHO national poll.
• Men's hockey advanced to the regional final in Allentown and finished No. 8 in the final USCHO national poll, which tied for the highest finish in program history. Guy Gadowsky’s team posted the fifth 20-win season in program history with all five coming in the last eight years.
• Women's gymnastics earned an NCAA Regional selection where they posted a program regional-record 196.825 points in the Pittsburgh Regional. Cassidy Rushlow (bars) and Ava Piedrahita (vault) advanced to the NCAA Championships as individuals based on their outstanding performances in Pittsburgh.
• Men's gymnastics also reached the postseason with a sixth-place finish in the NCAA Championships, which were held in Rec Hall.
• Women's lacrosse made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018 and finished No. 22 in the Inside Lacrosse/IWLCA poll.
• Track & Field had three regional outdoor athletes of the year with Handal Roban (men's track athlete), Faith DeMars (women's track athlete) and Mallory Kauffman (women's field athlete). Handal won the bronze in the 800 meters at NCAA Outdoors, while Rachel Gearing (women's) and Olivier Desmeules (men's) swept the 800 meters at Big Ten Indoors. Faith won the 5,000 meters at both the Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor Championships.

 
Academic Excellence

• In the classroom, Penn State had a 3.25 departmental grade point average (GPA) for the academic year, 142 student-athletes graduates, 421 Academic All-Big Ten selections and a non-alternative grading record-setting 174 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars (3.7 GPA during academic year).
• Penn State student-athletes posted a 3.22 GPA across all 31 sports during the 2022 fall semester. A total of 74 students earned a perfect 4.0 semester GPA during the fall and 584 had a 3.0 or better semester GPA with 302 of them earning Dean's List accolades.
• In the 2023 spring semester, Penn State student-athletes had a 3.28 GPA across all 31 sports with 571 student-athletes earning a 3.0 or better, 267 on Dean's List and 100 with a 4.0 GPA, including 13 with a cumulative 4.0 GPA.
• Field hockey's Gery Schnarrs and men's volleyball's Will Kuhns won the NCAA Elite 90 Award, which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships.
• The 92% Graduation Success Rate (GSR) by Penn State student-athletes in the 2021-22 NCAA report tied the school record from 2019-20 and 2020-21. It marked the sixth consecutive year Penn State recorded a GSR of 90 percent or higher.
• Penn State student-athletes have delivered a Graduation Success Rate in the 88-91% range in each of the past 16 NCAA reports, improving from 88% in the 2015 report, to 89% in 2016, to 90% in 2017 and 2018, to 91% in 2019, and the record-breaking 92% effort in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
• Twenty-one 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 of 89% in 2022.
• A total of 10 Nittany Lion squads posted a 100% Graduation Success Rate: women's fencing, field hockey, men's golf, women's golf, women's hockey, women's swimming & diving, men's tennis, women's tennis, men's volleyball and wrestling.
• The field hockey and women's tennis teams earned a 100% GSR for the 18th consecutive year - every year since the NCAA implemented the release of Graduation Success Rate data in 2005.
• The women's golf squad posted a 100% GSR for the seventh-straight year and the women's hockey team had a perfect GSR score for the sixth consecutive year in which they've been eligible.
• The NCAA reported 17 Penn State teams earned perfect APR scores of 1,000 during the 2021-22 academic year.
• The teams earning a perfect single-year APR are baseball, men's cross country, women's cross country, men's fencing, women's fencing, field hockey, women's golf, women's gymnastics, men's hockey, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, men's soccer, women's swimming & diving, men's tennis, women's track & field, men's volleyball and women's volleyball.
• In addition, eight Penn State squads earned perfect multi-year (2018-19 through 2021-22) APR scores of 1,000: field hockey, women's fencing, women's golf, women's gymnastics, men's hockey, women's lacrosse, softball and men's volleyball.
• The women's tennis team has earned 12 multi-year 1,000 APR scores in the 17 years the NCAA has announced multi-year data.
• The field hockey, women's cross country and women's golf squads have earned 10 multi-year 1,000 APR scores.
• Penn State has had 1,470 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars (3.7 yearly GPA) since the program began in 2008-09.
• Penn State is second among all conference institutions with 8,298 Academic All-Big Ten honorees since 1991-92, its first year of competition in some Big Ten sports.
• The Nittany Lions rank No. 4 among all Division I schools with 225 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans all-time, including six honorees in the 2022-23 academic year.  

National Championships

• Penn State has won 81 team national championships all-time, including a Big Ten-best 11 NCAA titles since the 2013 fall semester.
• The Nittany Lions have won 53 NCAA Championships all-time to rank No. 5 nationally. Penn State leads all schools east of the Mississippi River in NCAA titles.
• Since 2006-07, Penn State has won 23 NCAA Championships, good for No. 3 in nation and most among Big Ten institutions.
• Penn State’s 23 NCAA Championships since 2006-07 are nearly than double the total (Maryland; 12) of the next-highest Big Ten institution.
• Penn State has won 34 NCAA Championships since 1993-94, its first full year in the Big Ten Conference, easily ahead of the Big Ten schools in second (Maryland; 26) and third place (13).
• Penn State student-athletes have won 177 NCAA individual championships in 11 different sports.

Competitive Success  

• Penn State has won 311 conference championships (213 regular season; 98 conference tournaments) since 1941-42.
• The Nittany Lions have won 124 Big Ten Championships since 1992-93, including 53 titles since the 2013 fall semester.
• Since winning its first Big Ten Championship in 1992-93 (women's volleyball), Penn State is among only three conference institutions to win at least 100 Big Ten crowns.
• Nittany Lion student-athletes have won 381 Big Ten individual and relay championships in 10 different sports since 1991-92.
• Penn State finished in the top 25 of the Learfield Directors' Cup rankings for 26 consecutive years from 1993-94 to 2018-19.
• From 2012-13 through 2017-18, Penn State had an average finish of 9.8 in the Learfield Directors’ Cup, improving from an average finish of 14.2 from 2006-07 through 2011-12.
• Penn State earned three consecutive top 10 finishes in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings from 2012-13 through 2014-15 and has 12 top 10 finishes in the 28 years of the Directors' Cup.

 

Olympic Presence 

• Penn State had five participants representing two countries on the world stage at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
• Penn State had a strong presence in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with 24 participants representing six countries. The 2020 Nittany Lion contingent consisted of 16 competitors in eight sports, three coaches, a team physician, three personal coaches and a field hockey technical official.
• Not including the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, where 65 countries did not participate, Penn State has sent athletes to each Summer Olympic Games since 1948, a streak of 18 consecutive Games.
• The four first-time Olympians in the Beijing Winter Olympics boosted Penn State’s total to 123 all-time competitors or coaches (not selections).
• Six former Nittany Lion athletes won medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games – four gold, one silver, one bronze – while two coaches with Penn State ties led their respective teams to a silver and bronze medal (coaches are not awarded medals).
• The six medals earned in the Tokyo Games bring Penn State’s all-time total to 43 medals won – nine gold, 11 silver, 23 bronze. The four gold medals earned are the most in a single Olympics in Penn State history.

Community Engagement 

• Penn State student-athletes are engaged with more than 40 charitable organizations and events on an annual basis.
• Penn State student-athletes gave back to the community to the tune of more than 3,200 hours of service during the 2022-23 academic year.
• Penn State student-athletes, coaches and staff have combined to help raise nearly $8 million for three primary charitable organizations.
• Nittany Lion Basketball has helped raised more than $3.6 million for Coaches vs. Cancer since 1995.
• Lady Lion Basketball has helped raised $3.2 million for PA Pink Zone since 2007.
• Penn State Football Uplifting Athletes has raised more than $1.4 million for Uplifting Athletes and rare diseases since 2003.
• Penn State student-athletes annually participate in the Penn State Dance Marathon (THON), the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. Among the roles student-athletes serve at THON are dancers, volunteers, pep rally and event participants. Since 1977, THON has raised more than $204 million for the Four Diamonds Fund at the Hershey Children's Hospital, providing financial assistance to families suffering from pediatric cancer.

 

Facilities Enhancements 

• Six construction projects have been approved under Dr. Patrick Kraft’s leadership, including an All-Athlete Training Table and Student Wellness Center in the Greenberg Indoor Sports Center, East Area Locker Room renovation, Jeffrey Field Soccer Operations Center, Indoor Practice Bubble, upgrades to the Lasch Football Building and renovations to Beaver Stadium.
• The Lasch Football Building is in the midst of multi-phased renovations and upgrades to the building itself, football outdoor practice fields and Holuba Hall. The renovated weight room was completed in August 2022.
• In August 2022, construction commenced on upgrades to the Penn State Field Hockey Complex, which includes the addition of home and visiting team dressing areas, public restrooms, concession areas, a press box and multi-purpose hospitality room.
• The $7.2 million Morgan Academic Center, serving Penn State’s 800 student-athletes, opened in June 2016.
• In May 2017, men’s lacrosse alumnus Ken Panzer and his long-time business partner Jordan Kaplan made a $3.55 million gift to spark the construction of Panzer Stadium for the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams. Additional gifts brought the total donations for the facility to $5.6 million. The facility opened for the 2019 season.
• Peter and Ann Tombros committed the leading gift to construct a $1.1 million state-of-the-art basketball film room and training table in the Bryce Jordan Center in 2015.
• A new $1.45 million surface was installed at the Nittany Lion Outdoor Track in summer 2016.

 

University 

• Penn State offers more than 275 degree programs across 24 campuses, in addition to the nationally recognized online World Campus. There are 88,000-plus students at the 24 campuses.
• Penn State ranks 31st among national public universities in U.S. News' annual "Best Colleges" rankings for 2022-23.
• Penn State tied for No. 22 in “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs” and No. 23 in “Best Undergraduate Business Programs” in the U.S. News report. 
• Penn State ranked 22nd among all large U.S. employers for new college graduates entering the workforce, according to a Forbes survey in 2022.
• According to U.S. News, Penn State Health Children's Hospital ranks among the nation’s best hospitals for children in multiple specialties—cardiology and heart surgery (33rd), diabetes and endocrinology (41st) and pulmonology (42nd).
• Penn State research expenditures reached a record $1.034 billion in 2022.
• Penn State's College of Communications is the largest accredited program of its kind in the nation, with more than 2,700 students. The College received a transformational gift of $30 million from alumnus Donald P. Bellisario in 2017.
• State College was ranked by Best College Reviews as the No. 8 college town in the nation in 2021.
• State College was ranked the nation’s No. 3 Top Safest City for Families by Rocket Mortgage in 2021.

  
Alumni 

• There are more than 760,000 living Penn State Alumni worldwide, including in all 50 U.S. states and more than 160 countries.
• Penn State Alumni Association membership is nearly 175,000, making it the largest dues-paying alumni association in the world.
• Penn State's alumni network was ranked "Most Powerful" in the U.S. by College Magazine in 2016.
• Nearly 390,000 Penn State alumni reside in Pennsylvania, with graduates residing in every county.

Updated August 1, 2023