University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Volleyball Team Awarded for Academic Excellence
7/20/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
July 20, 2012
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss volleyball program was awarded its fourth consecutive team award for excellence in the classroom for being one of 102 NCAA Division I women's programs earning the 2011-12 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award announced today.
A record 533 teams 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. Houston, Memphis, Rice, UAB and UCF were the other C-USA's award recipients.
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," said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer. "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%. NCAA Division I recorded their highest-ever total number of recipients, honoring 102 programs while Division III easily surpassed last year's record of 57 winners with 67 this year. Division III also set a new record with 90 winners and the high school division increased their all-time high of 192 recipients to 220. Finally, the NCAA men broke new ground landing a record seven schools on this year's AVCA Team Academic Award list.
"It's wonderful that the AVCA recognizes teams for academic excellence," head coach Abbey Sutherland said. "Our ladies have definitely earned this award and I am very proud of them. They work hard, set high standards for themselves, and want to make a difference both on the court and in the classroom. Last semester's 3.6 GPA was an amazing accomplishment. We will refocus this fall and work hard to make the Southern Miss community proud of our amazing volleyball squad."
