SAN DIEGO – Representatives from the U.S. Marine Corps will be on hand to present the San Diego State volleyball squad with its 2020-21 AVCA Team Academic Award on Thursday, Nov. 18 prior to the Aztecs' home match vs. Nevada, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. PT.
The SDSU volleyball team was one of a record 246 NCAA Division I programs honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) for the 2020-21 academic year after compiling a collective 3.32 GPA.
Initiated during the 1992-93 academic year, the AVCA Team Academic Award honors volleyball programs that maintain a year-long grade-point average of 3.30 on a 4.0 scale or 4.10 on a 5.0 scale.
The AVCA Team Academic Award is the single largest award offered by quantity of schools, players and coaches honored. Since the 2000-01 season, the number of recipients has increased every year but two, while more than doubling the total over the last eight academic years. Since the award's inception in 1993, the amount of award winners has increased from 62 to its current number of 1,314.
In 2015, the AVCA and Marine Corps initiated a marketing relationship with the goal of increasing awareness and improving its perception among this group of influencers and specifically to support the female athlete recruiting priority. Since the launch of the USMC-AVCA partnership, the AVCA has introduced the Corps to other coaching organizations, members have volunteered to become influencers, and more than a dozen coaches have attended USMC Coaches Workshops.
Thursday's award presentation at SDSU supports this national partnership objective of providing access to coaches of recruitable student-athletes to foster relationships that lead to ongoing influencer advocacy.
About the AVCA
The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is a professional organization providing education to volleyball coaches, recognition of elite players and coaches, and promotion of volleyball competitions through the world. The mission of the AVCA is to advance the sport of volleyball with coaches at the epicenter of leadership, advocacy and professional development.