LEXINGTON, KY - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced recently that three KCAC volleyball programs (out of 34 NAIA programs) have earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2009-2010 season.  This year's recipients are Bethany College, Kansas Wesleyan University, and Ottawa University.

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.

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.

Click here for more information on the Team Academic Award criteria.

Click here for more information on all teams receiving this honor.

About AVCA
The AVCA, with its headquarters in Lexington, Ky., is managed by IMG Associations, a division of IMG, the world's premier and most diversified sports, entertainment and media company.  The mission of the AVCA is to develop and grow the sport of volleyball; with a membership of over 5,000 and counting, the AVCA provides a professional network for those individuals and companies dedicated to enhancing and developing the sport. Members are comprised of national and international coaches, collegiate, high school, club, youth and Olympic coaches, as well as club directors. Other members include former players, officials, media members and other friends of volleyball. As a group, the AVCA is committed to the development, growth, advancement and publicity of volleyball throughout the world.  Further information is available at www.avca.org.