Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Volleyball Earns Academic Honor from AVCA
8/31/2004 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 31, 2004
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The American Volleyball
Coaches Association has recognized Bucknell as one of 46 Division I volleyball programs to achieve at least a 3.30 combined grade-point average last season.
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.
"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."
Each school receives a plaque, and each player a certificate commemorating
the designation. Following is a list of the programs that earned the 2003-04
AVCA Team Academic Award, including the name of the head coach for the 2003
season.
| NCAA Division I (46) | State | Head Coach |
| American University | D.C. | Barry Goldberg |
| Appalachian State University | N.C. | Chad Callihan |
| Austin Peay State University | Tenn. | Cheryl Holt |
| Ball State University | Ind. | Randy Litchfield |
| Birmingham-Southern College | Ala. | Tonya Charland |
| Bowling Green State University | Ohio | Denise Van De Walle |
| Bucknell University | Pa. | Cindy Opalski |
| College of Charleston | S.C. | Sherry Dunbar |
| Creighton University | Neb. | Kirsten Bernthal Booth |
| University of Denver | Colo. | Beth Kuwata |
| Duquesne University | Pa. | Steven Opperman |
| Eastern Washington University | Wash. | Wade Benson |
| Elon University | N.C. | Mary Tendler |
| Indiana State University | Ind. | Julie Krofcheck |
| Iona College | N.Y. | Bob Weiner |
| Jacksonville State University | Ala. | Rick Nold |
| Kansas State University | Kan. | Suzie Fritz |
| Lamar University | Texas | Fiona Simmons |
| Lipscomb University | Tenn. | Brandon Rosenthal |
| Long Island University | N.Y. | Toby Rens |
| The University of Memphis | Tenn. | Carrie Yerty |
| Miami University | Ohio | Carolyn Condit |
| University of Missouri - Kansas City | Mo. | Steve Dallman |
| Morehead State University | Ky. | Jaime Gordon |
| University of Nebraska | Neb. | John Cook |
| University of New Mexico | N.M. | Kelley Sliva-McKee |
| Northern Arizona University | Ariz. | Michelle Hansen |
| Northwestern University | Ill. | Keylor Chan |
| Rice University | Texas | Genny Volpe |
| Seton Hall University | N.J. | Maureen Rafferty |
| Southeast Missouri State University | Mo. | Cindy Gannon |
| The University of Southern Mississippi | Miss. | Santiago Restrepo |
| Southwest Missouri State University | Mo. | Melissa Stokes |
| Stephen F. Austin State University | Texas | Debbie Humphreys |
| University of Tennessee at Martin | Tenn. | Chris Rushing |
| TCU | Texas | Prentice Lewis |
| University of Toledo | Ohio | Kent Miller |
| Troy University | Ala. | Ginger Lowe |
| Valparaiso University | Ind. | Carin Avery |
| University of Virginia | Va. | Melissa Shelton |
| Virginia Tech | Va. | Greg Smith |
| Western Michigan University | Mich. | Cathy George |
| Wichita State University | Kan. | Chris Lamb |
| Winthrop University | S.C. | Joel McCartney |
| University of Wisconsin-Green Bay | Wis. | Debbie Kirch |
| University of Wyoming | Wy. | Jim Barnes |
