SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo University beach volleyball team joined a record number of beach volleyball programs by earning the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award. The Lions were one of a record 43 collegiate beach programs to earn the honor.
 
Just 14 NCAA Division II beach programs earned the honor including the Lions. Saint Leo was joined on the list by Barry, Carson-Newman, Colorado Mesa, Concordia-Irvine, Eckerd, Emmanuel, Florida Southern, Hawai'i Pacific, Spring Hill, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Tusculum, Vanguard, and Wayne State.
 
The program collects its second Team Academic Award and first since 2024.
 
The 2025-26 school year proved to be yet another academically dominant year, as 1,432 collegiate and high school volleyball teams maintained a year-long grade-point average of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale (or 4.1 on a 5.0 scale), to earn the 2026 AVCA Team Academic Award.