LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 19, 2021) - The United State Marine Corps (USMC) and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced today that 1,275 collegiate and high school teams have earned the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2020-2021 season.
"Even though teams might not have played during their usual season or may not have competed at all during the past year, coaches still found ways to lead their players to academic excellence." said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer. "This is a testament to the important role volleyball coaches play in their players success both on and off the court."
This is the sixth straight season that the Golden Eagles have earned the award.
The award, initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors volleyball teams that maintain a year-long grade-point average of 3.30 on a 4.0 scale or 4.10 on a 5.0 scale.
Girls high school again has the most winners by category, with 413 teams receiving honors. Women's collegiate teams were well represented; over 50% of the membership in all three NCAA divisions won the award, including a new record of 243 DI programs.
Girl's high school also led the way in teams earning the award for the first time in 2021, with 65 new programs celebrating their academic achievements. Mirroring the rapid growth in the division, Beach had the most new collegiate programs participating with 12 teams earning their first Team Academic award this season.
The AVCA is proud to recognize eight 2020-2021 National Championship and AVCA Tournament winners that also excelled in the classroom:
University of Kentucky (NCAA Division I)
Angelo State University (AVCA Division II Women's National Championship)
Carthage College (AVCA Division III Women's Invitational)
Carthage College (NCAA Men's DIII)
University of Southern California (NCAA Beach)
Iowa Western Community College (NJCAA Division I)
Johnson County Community College (NJCAA Division II)
Bethel University (NCCAA)
Additionally, the top 20% of team GPAs from each division are designated as Team Academic Honor Roll schools, representing the highest scholarly achievement in our sport. 2021 Team Academic Honor Roll programs are listed here.
You can find 2020-21's full list of USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award recipients by clicking here.
Click here for all-time Team Academic Records (1992-2021).
