Five SLIAC Teams Receive AVCA Team Academic Award
The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced the 2014-15 AVCA Team Academic Award recipients with five St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) members being among those honored. A total of 752 teams were honored this year, breaking the previous record of 652 set last year.
Fontbonne University, Greenville College, MacMurray College, Principia College, and Webster University were all among the NCAA Division III program honored for maintaining at least at 3.30 team cumulative grade-point average. This marks the second consecutive year that the same five SLIAC programs received the AVCA Team Academic Award. It is the third straight year for MacMurray College, the fourth consecutive year for Greenville College, and the seventh consecutive year for Webster University.
"A hearty congratulations to all the volleyball coaches whose teams won the AVCA Team Academic Award," said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer. "Teams do not succeed in the classroom by accident any more so than they do on the court. The same coach who taught them volleyball skills cared enough about their academic achievement to gather their grades, calculate their GPA, and submit a nomination on their behalf. In doing so, these coaches sent a clear message that classroom success is just as important as volleyball success. All involved should celebrate this award!"
The AVCA Team Academic Award has become one of the AVCA's fastest growing awards programs, seeing an impressive surge in teams honored over the past several years. Since the 2000-2001 season, the number of recipients have increased every single year but one, while amassing a 476 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 752. For a full list of the 2014-15 Team Academic Award winners click HERE
BREAKDOWN BY CLASSIFICATION
| Division | # Recipients |
| NCAA Division I Women | 146 |
| NCAA Division II Women | 113 |
| NCAA Division III Women | 140 |
| NAIA Women | 49 |
| Two-Year College | 24 |
| NCCAA | 1 |
| Collegiate Men | 7 |
| High School Girls | 237 |
| High School Boys | 29 |
| College Sand | 6 |
