Drury Volleyball has received the American Volleyball Coaches Association Academic Award for an NCAA Division II-record 14th consecutive year, the association announced this week.
Coach Ashleigh Shear's Panthers were one of a record 450 teams to earn the award for the 2009-10 school year, smashing the previous mark of 409.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.
Shear, who is entering her second season at the helm of the DU program, said "I am very proud of my team for continuing our tradition of high achievement in the classroom. This recognition is one we cherish as a program and it speaks highly to the type of players we have and their ability to manage and prioritize their time outside the gym."
Drury was one of 55 teams nationally in D-II to earn the AVCA Award.
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.
Prior to 2009-10, only nine teams had attained the pinnacle of volleyball success in both earning the AVCA Team Academic Award and winning their respective collegiate national championship in the same academic year. This year, the AVCA is proud to recognize four programs -- Concordia University-St. Paul (NCAA Division II), Washington University in St. Louis (NCAA Division III), Clearwater Christian College (NCCAA Division II) and Stanford University (NCAA Division I-II men) - all of whom excelled both in the classroom and on the court. Concordia-St. Paul and Washington-St. Louis had both accomplished this feat once before, ironically both in the same academic year (2007-08).
There were 119 first-time recipients of the AVCA Team Academic Award in 2009-10. NCAA Division I and NCAA Division II each saw 15 new teams achieve the honor, while NCAA Division III welcomed 17 newcomers. Thirteen NAIA teams, two NCCAA teams and two Two-Year Colleges garnered recognition for the first time, while 55 high school teams (51 girls' teams and four boys' teams) received their first AVCA Team Academic nod.
Over 1,000 different schools have earned the award in the program's 18-year history, and over 2,900 awards have been given out in all. Only two institutions, both high schools, have earned the distinction all 18 years: Jonesboro High School (Jonesboro, Arkansas) and Ross S. Sterling High School (Baytown, Texas).
BREAKDOWN BY CLASSIFICATION
Division Number of recipients Percent Breakdown*
NCAA Division I Women 94 34%
NCAA Division II Women 55 27%
NCAA Division III Women 75 21%
NAIA Women 34 18.5%
Two-Year College Women 8 5%
NCCAA Women 2 13%
NCAA Collegiate Men 3 13.6%
High School (Girls and Boys) 179 15.2%
High School Girls 164
High School Boys 15
* Percentage is based on the total number of head coach members in each respective category.
TOTAL RECIPIENT HISTORY
2009-10: 450
2008-09: 409
2007-08: 354
2006-07: 308
2005-06: 287
2004-05: 276
2003-04: 305
2002-03: 205
2001-02: 178
2000-01: 130
1999-2000: 140
1998-99: 149
1997-98: 132
1996-97: 134
1995-96: 116
1994-95: 83
1993-94: 98
1992-93: 62