Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Establish Third Highest GPA In The Nation
August 03, 2004 | Volleyball
Aug. 3, 2004
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Bowling Green State University volleyball team, with a team grade-point average of 3.63, recorded the third highest GPA in the nation for the 2003 season. Twelve of the 13 members from the 2003 team recorded a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30 in the spring semester. The award, initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors college and high school teams that displayed excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale and a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale during the school year. Nominating head coaches must be AVCA members. Recipients of the award range from NCAA Division I institutions to high school girls' and boys' teams. The college ranks produced 161 programs that met the requirements for the award. This year marked the most awards earned in Division II (31), Division III (48) and NAIA (27). Division I women's programs (46) and two-year colleges (7) listed their second-highest award totals, just shy of the 47 and nine respective classification records. An additional highlight is that Stanford University became the first-ever men's collegiate program to earn the honor. A record-total 143 high school programs earned the distinction, including Ironwood Ridge High School (Oro Valley, Ariz.) and Thomas McKean High School (Wilmington, Del.) placing both boys' and girls' squads on the award list. The previous high for the prep ranks was 103 awards in 2002-03. Over 700 different schools have won the award in the program's 12-year history. Two institutions have earned it every year in Jonesboro High School (Jonesboro, Ark.) and Ross S. Sterling High School (Baytown, Texas). Historically, schools from 49 states and two countries (outside the United States) have won the award. For 2003-04, the award-winning programs represent 43 states, the District of Columbia and Korea. "The AVCA Team Academic Award captures the true essence of the student-athlete, and the AVCA is honored to recognize these schools for excellence in the classroom," Katherine McConnell, AVCA executive director said. "We are especially pleased to bestow this prestigious award to a record number of teams for the third year in a row." Some of this year's award recipients achieved success on the court, as well as in the classroom. A total of 36 teams that earned the 2003-04 AVCA Team Academic Award, also earned a berth in their respective collegiate postseason tournaments. The national runner-up teams in both NCAA Division II and Division III were also earned the award in Concordia University (Minn.) and New York University, respectively. Five of eight region champions in the 2003 NCAA Division III Championship field won the AVCA Team Academic award in Emory University (Ga.), New York University, Ohio Northern University, Williams College (Mass.) and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
