July 24, 2012

BERKELEY - While excelling on the volleyball court is a time-honored tradition at Cal, excellence in the classroom and graduating with degrees is a cornerstone of the Golden Bear volleyball program and the latter has been recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association for Cal earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2011-2012 season. This number once again breaks the previous year's total of 481 and sets a new all-time high for this award.

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.

"Many coaches tell us they take more pride in and hear more positive feedback about winning the AVCA Team Academic Award than anything else they do all year," AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer said. "While it is undeniable that the sport we coach is zero-sum on the scoreboard, it is a tool for empowerment on other fronts. The 533 coaches whose teams won this academic award understand the value of both playing to win and winning through play. A well-deserved congratulations to each team and coach!"

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. Since the 2000-2001 season, the number of recipients has increased every single year but one, while amassing an overall 200% increase over the span of the last decade. Since the award's inception in 1993, the award has risen by an astounding 760 percent. NCAA Division I recorded their highest-ever total number of recipients, honoring 102 programs.