AVCA Release 

Lexington, Ky. - For the 24^th straight year, the Wayne State College volleyball team has received American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award.  The 24-year consecutive streak by Wildcat volleyball is the longest active streak in NCAA Division II volleyball as WSC posted a 3.66 cumulative grade point average during the 2025-26 school year.

The 2025 Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team was named the AVCA Division II Team Academic Champions, which is awarded to the program with the highest team GPA in Division II for the 2025-26 academic year. SMSU finished this past academic year with a GPA of 3.91. It's just the second year the AVCA has named a Team Academic Champion, which is awarded annually to the program with the highest GPA in their respective division.
 
With the top ranking, SMSU was also named to the 'Team Academic Honor Roll', which celebrates programs in the Top 20 percent of GPAs for their division. In all, 13 NSIC volleyball programs earned recognition. 

"It comes as no surprise to see our sport have more than 1,400 teams earn the AVCA Team  Academic Award again this season," said AVCA CEO Jaime Gordon. "We are grateful for the dedication of the coaches and players who make both classroom and on-court success the lifeblood of their programs."

To be eligible for the award, a school must maintain a year-long grade-point average of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale.  This year a total of 1,432 collegiate or high school teams earned the 2026 AVCA Team Academic Award. 

*Team Academic Honor Roll

Augustana*	10 years
Bemidji State
Concordia - St. Paul	23 years
Jamestown*
Minnesota Duluth	11 years
Minnesota State*	15 years
Minnesota State Moorhead
Southwest Minnesota State*	19 years
Minot State
Northern State *	13 years
Sioux Falls	15 years
St. Cloud State	11 years
Wayne State	24 years