University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics

The Alaska Nanooks volleyball squad has been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s list of Team Academic Award winners for 2009-10, according to an AVCA announcement Wednesday.

This marks the third consecutive year that the team has garnered the honor. Collectively, the team earned a 3.42 GPA over the year. To qualify, a school’s volleyball team must maintain a minimum 3.30 GPA on a 4.0 scale. 
   
“We are really proud of our team members and their extraordinary dedication in the class room and on the court,” head coach Phil Shoemaker said. “They work very hard to lead balanced lives, and though it is not easy, I think they really enjoy the challenge. It's nice to receive this well deserved recognition.”

Alaska is one of only two schools from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference to receive the award this year along with Western Washington. The Nanooks and the Vikings are the only teams from the West Region.

The award was created in the 1992-93 academic school year. It honors college teams at all levels and high school teams. The AVCA has seen a dramatic jump in award recipients lately with a 300 percent jump over the past decade and a 79 percent spike in the past three years alone.

Division II schools recorded their highest number of recipients this year with 55.

“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.