STATE COLLEGE, Pa.; June 24, 1999 -- For the seventh consecutive year it has been eligible, Penn State has received honorable mention recognition by the American Football Coaches Association in the organization's Academic Achievement Award tabulation.

Penn State was one of 26 Division I-A institutions to be recognized for having a graduation rate of 70 percent or better for student-athletes who were freshman during the 1993-94 academic year.

Prior to being recognized in the AFCA survey in 1998, Coach Joe Paterno's program also received honorable mention notice in: 1985-87-88-89-91-92-93-94-95 when Penn State was a member of the College Football Association, which conducted the survey.

In 1996 and '97, Penn State was not a CFA member, but had a graduation rate of better than 70 percent. The AFCA is in its second year of presenting the award.

Duke had the highest graduation rate among freshmen enrolling in 1993 to earn the AFCA's Academic Achievement Award. Only two other Big Ten institutions received honorable mention distinction -- Indiana and Northwestern.

Among the 94 participating institutions, the graduation rate for the Class of '98 was 56 percent. Of those student-athletes who completed four years of eligibility, 70.8 percent have graduated and another 6.6 percent are working toward a degree.

In the 1998 NCAA Graduation Rate Report, Penn State's football players had a four-year graduation rate of 74 percent, second-best in the nation among schools who were ranked in the final 1998 USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.