ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The American Athletic Conference announced its 2016-17 Team Academic Excellence Awards on Tuesday, recognizing the UCF volleyball team for its achievement in the classroom.
The awards are given to the teams with the highest collective grade-point average (GPA) in each of the conference's 21 sports. The winners were chosen based on the 2016-17 grade-point average of each student-athlete who appeared on an institution's roster as of the last contest of the championship segment.
"First of all, our program would like to thank Dr. Eric Wood, Carly Place and the mentors that help our players succeed academically at the highest possible level," head coach Todd Dagenais said. "I'm extremely proud of the culture that our players have instilled amongst each other - that academics is a pillar of our success. The combination of our players' desire and the opportunities that Dr. Wood and Academic Services for Student-Athletes (ASSA) put in place for them is really the true reason that we are able to receive this honor."
The volleyball team boasted a team GPA of 3.609 for the fall semester and 3.746 in the spring. The overall 3.74 GPA compiled by the squad is the highest GPA earned by a sport in UCF history. The Knights were also recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, earning the team academic award.
The Back and Gold saw 12 student-athletes compile GPAs of 3.7 or better in the fall, and eight of those Knights tallied a GPA of 3.9 or better.
With the volleyball team's recognition on Tuesday, at least one UCF program has earned The American's Team Academic Excellence Award each year since the league's inception in 2013-14.
American Athletic Conference Team Academic Excellence Awards
2016-17: Volleyball
2015-16: Men's Golf, Women's Tennis
2014-15: Men's Basketball, Football, Softball
2013-14: Women's Basketball, Football
