Track & field and volleyball teams earn academic awards

The EMU track & field teams have each won All-Academic awards from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Individually, sophomore Isaac Alderfer (Broadway, Va./Broadway) was named as an All-Academic Athlete.

The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced that EMU women’s volleyball team earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2019-20 season.


Track and Field

To earn All-Academic Athlete status, an individual needs to hold a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.30 while also finishing in the top 50 in the nation in an event. Alderfer has a 3.96 GPA with a major in environmental science and a photography minor. He was No. 40 nationally in the indoor 800m with a program record time of 1:54.97. 

For a team to be considered for this honor, it must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.10 on a 4.0 scale. Overall, there were 359 teams honored by the USTFCCCA, of which 209 were women’s teams and 150 were men’s teams. EMU’s men had a team GPA of 3.32, while the women had a GPA of 3.20.

According to the USTFCCCA archives which date back to 1995, this is the first time that the Royals men have received the national award. The EMU women last claimed the All-Academic honor in 2018.\

This is the third straight season the Royals have earned the Team Academic Award, this year holding a team GPA of 3.62.


Volleyball

AVCA honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that achieve academic team excellence by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade point average.

EMU is one of a record 231 schools in NCAA D-III women’s volleyball to win the award with an AVCA total of 1,313 teams earning the achievement, also a new high.

The volleyball women closed the 2019 season with their best record since 2001, finishing at 13-13. Carrie Bert resigned in January after five seasons as head coach. She was replaced by Casey Steinbrecher, a longtime associate coach at D-I James Madison University.