LEXINGTON, Ky. (blugolds.com) - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced Monday that 822 teams have earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2016-2017 season, with the Blugolds earning a spot on the list.
The award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale. The Blugolds tallied a 3.379 team GPA to earn the team honor.
The AVCA Team Academic Award, celebrating its 25th year, is the single largest award offered by quantity of schools, players and coaches honored. Since the 2000-2001 season, the number of recipients have increased every single year but two, while amassing a 532 team increase over the span of the last decade. Since the award's inception in 1993, the amount of award winners has increased from 62 to its current number of 822.
Girls high school led the way with 277 recipients, an increase of 17 over last year. NCAA Division I honored 145 programs, while NCAA Division II notched 119 honorees. Once again, NCAA Division III had the second-most honorees this year with a total of 150 schools, a 10-school increase over last year's record number.