LEXINGTON, KY– Winthrop's volleyball team was one of 94 NCAA Div. I colleges and university squads and one of two Big South Conference member that earned The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 2009-2010 season.
Coach Sally Polhamus' Eagles compiled a cumulative 3.39 grade point average for the fall and spring semesters. 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 GPA on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale. UNC Asheville was the other Big South member school to receive the honor.
“There is no better way to gauge the success of a sport than to track the accomplishments of the people who participate,” said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer. “Each of these teams represents 12-15 really smart kids. What a great day for the sport of volleyball!”
The 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. The program has increased by over 300% in the last 10 years and by 79% in the past three years alone. Both NCAA Division I and NCAA Division II recorded their highest-ever total numbers of recipients, with the former honoring 94 programs and the latter honoring 55 programs. The high school division also set a new bar with its 179 honorees.
