Creighton Volleyball Wins Ninth Straight AVCA Team Academic Award

OMAHA, Neb. -- The 2023-24 Creighton University volleyball team has been honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association as a recipient of the AVCA Team Academic Award sponsored by INTENT.

Creighton's 19th overall recognition is its ninth straight season being honored, and 17th award in the last 21 seasons under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU's 19 overall recognitions are tied for 18th-most in NCAA history, and lead all BIG EAST programs. The Bluejays previously were recognized in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

The award, initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors teams that displayed excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA. There were 230 Division I schools that qualified for the honor in 2023-24, including nine teams in the BIG EAST Conference. Creighton's nine straight honors is tied with Providence and Seton Hall for the fourth-longest active streak in the BIG EAST, trailing only, DePaul (17), Villanova (14) and St. John's (11).

The Bluejay volleyball team had a GPA of 3.57 last fall and a 3.47 mark in the spring, and owns a 3.63 cumulative GPA. Seventeen different women were named to Creighton's Dean's List (3.50 GPA or better) at least one semester during the 2023-24 academic year, and three different women owned a perfect 4.00 GPA at least once last year.

"We are pleased that the record-setting success of the 2023-24 season on the court has extended to the classroom, too, as evidenced by more programs earning the Team Academic Award than ever before," says AVCA CEO Jaime Gordon. "This is a great example of how committed our coaches are when it comes to helping their players reach their full potential as both students and athletes."

INTENT, which is in its first year of sponsoring the prestigious award, is a game-changing, digital platform links student-athletes (along with military special ops veterans) to a powerful network of candidate-seeking employers. The tech, information and internet company guides student-athletes and service members toward professional and personal success in life after sports and service.

Creighton earned a 12th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament last fall and finished the 2023 season with a 29-5 record. The Bluejays won their 10th straight regular-season BIG EAST title while also capturing the BIG EAST Tournament title for the ninth time in the past 10 seasons.

Creighton is one of 16 schools that finished last year in the AVCA Top 25 poll and received a AVCA Team Academic Award sponsored by INTENT, a list that consisted of Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, Creighton, Dayton, Florida, Florida State, Houston, Kansas, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, Washington State and Western Kentucky.

CU opens the 2024 season on Aug. 16 with its Blue-White exhibition, and starts regular-season play on Aug. 30 against NC State in the Bluejay Invitational.

2023-2024 AVCA Team Academic Award Recipients - NCAA Division I Women

Alabama State University
American University
Appalachian State University
Arizona State University
Austin Peay State University
Ball State University
Baylor University
Belmont University
Binghamton University
Boise State University
Boston College
Bowling Green State University
Bradley University
Brigham Young University
Brown University
Bryant University
California Baptist University
Campbell University
Canisius College
Central Connecticut State University
Central Michigan University
Charleston Southern University
Clemson University
Coastal Carolina University
College of Charleston
College of the Holy Cross
College of William & Mary
Colorado State University
Cornell University
Creighton University
Dartmouth College
Davidson College
Delaware State University
DePaul University
Drake University
Duke University
Duquesne University
East Carolina University
Eastern Illinois University
Eastern Kentucky University
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Washington University
Elon University
Fairfield University
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Florida Gulf Coast University
Florida State University
Fresno State University
Furman University
Gardner-Webb University
George Mason University
George Washington University
Georgetown University
Georgia Southern University
Georgia State University
Grand Canyon University
Harvard University
Hofstra University
Houston Christian University
Howard University
Idaho State University
Illinois State University
Indiana State University
Indiana University Indianapolis
Iona University
Iowa State University
Jacksonville State University
James Madison University
Kansas State University
Kennesaw State University
Kent State University
Lafayette College
Lehigh University
Liberty University
Lipscomb University
LMU
Long Island University
Louisiana Tech University
Loyola Chicago
Loyola University Maryland
LSU
Marquette University
Marshall University
McNeese State University
Merrimack College
Michigan State University
Middle Tennessee State University
Mississippi State University
Missouri State University
Montana State University
Morehead State University
Morgan State University
Murray State University
Niagara University
NJIT
North Carolina State University
North Dakota State University
Northern Arizona University
Northern Kentucky University
Northwestern University
Oakland University
Ohio State University
Ohio University
Old Dominion University
Oregon State University
Portland State University
Presbyterian College
Princeton University
Providence College
Purdue University Fort Wayne
Queens University of Charlotte
Radford University
Rice University
Rider University
Robert Morris University
Rutgers University
Sacramento State
Sacred Heart University
Saint Francis University
Saint Mary's College of California
Sam Houston State University
Santa Clara University
Seton Hall University
Siena College
South Dakota State University
Southeast Missouri State University
Southeastern Louisiana University
Southern Illinois University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Utah University
St. John's University
Stanford University
Stephen F. Austin University
Stetson University
Stonehill College
Stony Brook University
Syracuse University
Temple University
Tennessee Tech University
Texas A&M University-Commerce
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Texas State University
The Citadel
Troy University
Tulane University
UAB
UC Santa Barbara
UCF
UIC
UNC Asheville
UNCW
University at Albany
University at Buffalo
University of Akron
University of Alabama
University of Arkansas
University of California - Berkeley
University of Central Arkansas
University of Cincinnati
University of Colorado
University of Dayton
University of Delaware
University of Florida
University of Georgia
University of Houston
University of Illinois
University of Iowa
University of Kansas
University of Memphis
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
University of Mississippi
University of Missouri
University of Missouri-Kansas City
University of Montana
University of Nebraska
University of Nebraska-Omaha
University of New Hampshire
University of New Mexico
University of North Alabama
University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina-Charlotte
University of North Dakota
University of North Florida
University of Northern Colorado
University of Northern Iowa
University of Notre Dame
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
University of San Francisco
University of South Alabama
University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina Upstate
University of South Dakota
University of South Florida
University of Southern Indiana
University of Southern Mississippi
University of St. Thomas
University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee-Chattanooga
University of Texas
University of Texas at Arlington
University of Texas-El Paso
University of Texas-San Antonio
University of Toledo
University of Utah
University of Virginia
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
University of Wyoming
Utah State University
Utah Valley University
Valparaiso University
Villanova University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Wake Forest University
Washington State University
Weber State University
Western Carolina University
Western Illinois University
Western Kentucky University
Western Michigan University
Wichita State University
Winthrop University
Wofford College
Wright State University
Xavier University
Yale University
Youngstown State University