LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Tusculum University women’s beach volleyball program was among just 15 NCAA Division II beach programs to earn the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award. TU earns this honor for a seventh-straight year.
The award, initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors volleyball teams that maintain a year-long grade-point average of 3.30 on a 4.0 scale or 4.10 on a 5.0 scale. In 2026, a record 43 women’s collegiate beach programs were recipients of the honor.
The Pioneers finished with a 3.70 team GPA for the 2025-26 academic year, including three student-athletes who posted at least one semester with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
TU boasted 18 selections on both the Tusculum Athletic Director’s Spring Honor Roll, 17 to theSouth Atlantic Conference Commissioner Honor Roll, and seven to the Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Award list. Additionally, a pair of Pioneers were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District at-large first team.
The 2026 Pioneers were the third-seed in the conference tournament, finishing as the runner-up at the league’s event.
AVCA Division II Women’s Beach Team Academic Award
Barry University
Carson-Newman University
Colorado Mesa University
Concordia University Irvine
CSU Pueblo
Eckerd College
Emmanuel University
Florida Southern College
Hawai’i Pacific University
Saint Leo University
Spring Hill College
Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Tusculum University
Vanguard University
Wayne State College (Neb.)
