Not all student athletes are stereotypical "dumb jocks," and they don't all major in basket weaving. At least not at Penn State.

Today is National Student Athlete Day, when athletic organizations at Penn State and other universities across the country try to dispel these and other myths about collegiate student athletes.

This year's National Student Athlete Day -- co-sponsored by the NCAA and the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS) -- will be Penn State's first as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

Because the Big Ten is a national leader in maintaining high academic standards in athletics, National Student Athlete Day will likely become a more visible event at Penn State.

"Each year (we) want it to grow, grow with more focus," said John Bove, chairman of public relations for the Student Athlete Advisory Board (SAAB). "Each year (SAAB) wants to get the students involved. They want more than just the athletes to participate."

The day's goals are as varied as the athletes whom it honors. It primarily aims to erase the "dumb jock" image that many people associate with student athletes and to show that many student athletes are positive role models.

"We want people to recognize the student athletes' academic achievements rather than just their athletic achievements," Bove said. "We're trying to get people away from the aspect that student athletes are one-dimensional. An athlete is not just an athlete. He is also a student who is not just carried through school. They have to take the same classes as everyone else."

To help alleviate some of these stereotypes, SAAB has organized a variety of events to show that student athletes have the same academic concerns as many non-athletes.

Kicking things off at 8:20 this morning, SAAB will send a group of student athletes to State College Area High School. The group will give pointers to the high school students about how to adjust to college life, ranging from time management to abstaining from drugs and alcohol. The group will also address athletics, discussing in particular how high school athletes can balance athletics and academics.

On campus, SAAB will show videos highlighting Penn State athletics. The video display begins at 10 a.m. in the lobby of Boucke Building and is scheduled to end at 2 p.m.

Basketball star Freddie Barnes and fencing standout Katie Kowalski may be the most visible Penn State athletes on National Student Athlete Day, as they will appear on a WJAC-TV interview at 6 p.m. to talk about the ups and downs of being both a student and an athlete.

"Hopefully we will displace some of those myths that (student athletes) are given everything on a silver platter," Kowalski said. "It makes people see the other side of student athletes. If we didn't keep our grades up, then we wouldn't be able to compete."

Barnes agreed with Kowalski that eliminating those myths is important, but he said he feels that educating future college athletes should take precedence.

"That's really important because they are the future and they're going to be taking our places when we leave, so I really feel that the program should be geared towards the high school kids," Barnes said.

Concluding the day's activities will be an informal group discussion featuring past Penn State athletes from 7 to 9 p.m. in 305 HUB. Anyone interested may attend and will be able talk the featured guests.

It will provide some first-hand insight as to how athletics can be beneficial and what athletes do after graduation, Bove said.

"It's just to see what these people are doing after athletics," he said. "Most of these people aren't in sports anymore. The speakers will be able to tell how some of them got through their athletic and academic endeavors and relate their experience to athletics."

The board expects 13 former Penn State athletes to attend, including former NFL players Chris Bahr and Mike Guman as well as Charlene Morett, the Lady Lion field hockey coach.

While National Student Athlete Day is taking on greater significance at Penn State, its visibility elsewhere depends largely on the efforts of each university, said NCAS National Coordinator Pamela Gutlon.

She cited the University of Hartford and the University of California-San Diego as having intriguing National Student Athlete Day activities.

Hartford is conducting a program to benefit the homeless while UC-San Diego has initiated a buddy program in which UC-San Diego athletes visit the homes of terminally ill children from the San Diego area.

Gutlon said that National Student Athlete Day has grown immeasurably since its inception five years ago.

"We've lost count, in terms of numbers, of how many schools are participating," Gutlon said. "We had 70 events in our first year and now we have no idea."

This year the NCAA is co-sponsoring National Student Athlete Day for the first time. In the past, only the 82-member NCAS has sponsored the event. The inclusion of all NCAA institutions, not just those which belonged to NCAS, has sparked the rapid growth in popularity of NSAD.

More than 600 colleges and universities belong to the NCAA. Penn State is a member of both the NCAS and the NCAA.