EdCC Volleyball Earns AVCA Team Academic Award

2013 EdCC Volleyball Team

LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 4, 2014) - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced today that 676 teams have earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2012-2013 season. 

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.

Edmonds Community College, with a team GPA of 3.34 during 2013-14, was one of the schools recognized by the AVCA. Just two Northwest Athletic Conference squads earned Team Academic Award honors, the other being Clackamas Community College.

"Too often athletic participation is associated with academic underachievement and this stereotype is simply false when it comes to volleyball," said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer. "Couple the smarts represented by these teams with the competitive experience and team-focused training gained on the court and we have a potent formula for future leadership! What a significant contribution that is by their coaches and schools."

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 an overall 500% 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 676. 

Over 1,000 different schools have earned the award in the program's 22-year history, with exactly 6,126 awards been given out in total. Additionally, there were six programs to earn recognition in the inaugural sand category.

For a list of all 676 team winners, click here