Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Beach Volleyball Recognized with 2026 AVCA Team Academic Award
7/23/2026 11:39:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic beach volleyball had another successful year in the classroom as the Sandy Owls earned the 2026 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award, announced by the AVCA on Thursday.
"I'm very proud of the hard work our team puts into everything they do," expressed head coach Steve Grotowski. "They are amazing people and fantastic representatives for Florida Atlantic!"
The honor marks back-to-back years of earning the AVCA academic accolade and the fourth in Florida Atlantic's history, having also earned the AVCA honor in 2019, 2023, and 2025.
Florida Atlantic is one of 40 NCAA DI women's beach volleyball programs to earn the honor and one of 1,432 collegiate and high school volleyball teams nationwide. 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 award, initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that demonstrated excellence in the classroom throughout the year by maintaining a cumulative team grade-point average of at least 3.30 on a 4.0 scale or 4.10 on a 5.0 scale.
The full list of 2025-26 AVCA Team Academic Award recipients can be found here.
FOLLOW THE SANDY OWLS
To stay up to date with everything Florida Atlantic Beach Volleyball, follow @FAUBeachVB on X and Instagram, or like FAU Beach Volleyball on Facebook.
"I'm very proud of the hard work our team puts into everything they do," expressed head coach Steve Grotowski. "They are amazing people and fantastic representatives for Florida Atlantic!"
The honor marks back-to-back years of earning the AVCA academic accolade and the fourth in Florida Atlantic's history, having also earned the AVCA honor in 2019, 2023, and 2025.
Florida Atlantic is one of 40 NCAA DI women's beach volleyball programs to earn the honor and one of 1,432 collegiate and high school volleyball teams nationwide. 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 award, initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that demonstrated excellence in the classroom throughout the year by maintaining a cumulative team grade-point average of at least 3.30 on a 4.0 scale or 4.10 on a 5.0 scale.
The full list of 2025-26 AVCA Team Academic Award recipients can be found here.
FOLLOW THE SANDY OWLS
To stay up to date with everything Florida Atlantic Beach Volleyball, follow @FAUBeachVB on X and Instagram, or like FAU Beach Volleyball on Facebook.
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