LEXINGTON, KY (July 13, 2023) — The United States Marine Corps and the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced today that 1,333 collegiate and high school volleyball teams have earned the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award this season. The FIU Beach Volleyball Team earned this award after finishing the fall and spring semester with a team GPA of 3.61. The Panthers had a team GPA of 3.65 in Fall 2022 and a 3.57 GPA in Spring 2023. 

This marks an all-time record number of programs honored for their academic achievements. The award, initiated in the 1992–93 academic year, honors volleyball teams that maintain a year-long grade-point average of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale or 4.1 on a 5.0 scale.

"The commitment our coaches make to help their student-athletes pursue the best versions of themselves is evident in the academic accomplishments highlighted today." said AVCA CEO Jaime Gordon. "Achievement on the court has always been closely tied to success in the classroom which is reflected by the number of championship programs honored."

Teams with winning streaks of 15 years or longer are highlighted on the list of honorees for their consistent commitment to academics. Two programs hold the extraordinary record of receiving the award for 31 consecutive seasons: girls teams at Jonesboro High School (Jonesboro, Arkansas) and Ross S. Sterling High School (Baytown, Texas).

The additional distinction of Team Academic Honor Roll celebrates programs in the top 20% of GPAs for their division.

Stanford University (Division I) and Corona del Sol High School (Tempe, AZ) hit the trifecta, as their women's, men's, and beach teams are all being honored. Girls high school has the most winners by division category, with 487 teams making the grade. For the second consecutive year, women's collegiate beach set a record with 66 teams receiving the honor this season. The high school boys, collegiate men, and two-year college women's divisions also set new marks for highest participation to date.