General | March 02, 2026

PHILADELPHIA — Sarah Gronningsater, an associate professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, has been named the institution's NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative. The Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) is a key member of the Office of the Provost and the Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics (DRIA), helping to strengthen collaboration between the academic community and Penn Athletics.
 
In this role, the FAR acts as an agent of the University under the guidance of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and works closely with DRIA's Compliance Office and the Pottruck Center for Student-Athlete Success (CSAS). The FAR is responsible for assisting in the application of all NCAA and Ivy League rules and regulations, and for supporting and promoting the academic success of student-athletes.
 
"Sarah has provided exemplary service to DRIA as a member of our Athletics Advisory Committee and has been a well-regarded professor to many of our student-athletes through her History of American Law and History of U.S. Baseball classes," Alanna Wren, the T. Gibbs Kane, Jr. W'69 Director of Athletics and Recreation said. "We are thrilled to welcome her into this broader role as our faculty athletic representative."
 
At Penn, Gronningsater teaches both undergraduate and graduate students, offering courses in early American history, the long nineteenth century, the American Revolution, slavery and abolition in the Atlantic World, the politics of reform movements, legal and constitutional history, and the history of American baseball.
 
"I'm excited to take on this role," Gronningsater said. "I have loved teaching Penn athletes in my various history courses and getting to see them dive into the intellectual material. I appreciate any opportunity to support student learning at the university."
 
She received the Richard S. Dunn Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2020 and again in 2025. In 2023, she was honored with the Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching by an Assistant Professor and the Penn Friars Senior Society Faculty Award.
 
Gronningsater earned an A.B. from Harvard University, an M.St. from the University of Oxford, and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.