Blue White Illustrated

mong the former Penn State athletes to receive a degree last month was Levi Brown, an All-America offen- sive lineman a decade ago. It was Brown's third Penn State diploma. He had earned a bachelor's degree in labor and industrial relations in December 2005, then, instead of coasting during his final year of athletic eligibility, he decided to pursue a degree in psychology, which he received in Decem- ber 2006. A few years later, while playing for the Arizona Cardinals, he began taking graduate courses during the NFL off-sea- son with an eye toward someday earning a master's degree. In early May, that day ar- rived. Brown had been selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2007 draft and had en- joyed a seven-year pro career with the Car- dinals and Pittsburgh Steelers, but he un- derstood there was more to life than foot- ball and was as motivated in the classroom as he was on the field. As he told GoPSU- sports.com recently, "If you're going to start something, you need to finish it." That's good advice, especially this time of year when everyone's attention turns to the wave of newcomers who are set to ar- rive on campus. Part of the fun of college sports – and part of the reason for BWI's annual Newcomers of Influence special is- sue – lies in the buzz that those student- athletes create. The constant turnover of personnel ensures that there will be new recruits to meet and new depth-chart questions to ponder every year. Throw in the increasingly extensive coverage of the recruiting process itself, and it's easy to understand why so many of us, fans and media alike, pay rapt attention to the start. But what really matters is what happens next. How do those athletes fare once their careers are under way? Are they get- ting the college experience they were promised when they were being recruited? Are they being challenged in the class- room and on the field? And the big ques- tion: Are they graduating? On the latter score, Penn State's answer is a pretty emphatic yes. The university graduated 109 student-athletes during commencement ceremonies in May, with representatives of 30 programs receiving their diplomas. That figure tied a school record set in 2013, and while Penn State's recent graduation totals have undoubtedly been boosted by the addition of men's and women's ice hockey in 2012, the universi- ty's APR scores have also been strong. The APR – it stands for Academic Progress Rate – tracks the retention of athletes as well as their progress toward graduation. The average score for Penn State's 29 varsity teams (indoor and out- door track teams are combined in the NCAA's calculations) was 984, five points above the national average. The Nittany Lion football team had a score of 960, one point above the Division I average. The team has now exceeded the Division I av- erage all 11 years that the NCAA has been tracking APR scores. In addition, eight Penn State teams exceeded the national averages in their respective sports by more than 10 points, a list headed by the wrestling squad, which was 22 points above the average. Those numbers bespeak a commitment to athletes' off-field success, one that Brown saw firsthand when he was a Nit- tany Lion. "I felt like this was a place I needed to be," he said. "The stars aligned and everything worked out." ■ A new class is set to arrive, but it's the end game that matters most EYES ON THE PRIZE When he was put in charge of the first-team offense, Stevens shined in the spring game, hitting 3 of 3 passes on a Blue touch- down drive. Photo by Steve Manuel S P E C I A L S E C T I O N N E W C O M E R S O F I N F L U E N C E A

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