Northern Kentucky University Athletics

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association has announced that 450 teams, including Northern Kentucky University, have earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2009-10 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.

“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 450 teams represents 12-15 really smart kids. What a great day for the sport of volleyball.”

In addition to its outstanding work in the classroom, NKU has won at least 20 matches for 17 consecutive seasons. NKU begins the season Sept. 3 by meeting three-time defending NCAA Division II national champion Concordia-St. Paul in the University of Tampa Classic.