SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana Director of Athletics Josh Morton is pleased to announce a new department award rewarding Viking athletic teams for their work in the classroom. The Viking volleyball and men's golf teams are the inaugural recipients of the AD's Academic Achievement Award for holding the highest GPA in the department during the fall semester.

"We're always looking for ways to celebrate the excellence of our student-athletes in the classroom, in competition and the community," Morton said. "The AD's Academic Achievement Award does just that and the best part about it is the competition is so good. Our teams do an outstanding job academically, so to be the best in our department really means something."

The volleyball squad tallied a team GPA of 3.73 while the men's golf program combined for a 3.54 GPA during the 2020 Fall Semester. 

"I could not be prouder of this group of men for their achievements this semester," head men's golf coach Danny Sinksen said. "We talk a lot about controllable and uncontrollable factors in golf and in life. Certainly, there have been a lot of uncontrollable ones in 2020 but they persevered and took advantage of the extra time they had to study.

"As student-athletes they have such a challenge to balance everything but with competition on hold for the semester they took that time to focus on their studies and capitalize on the opportunity. Hopefully we will do the same thing on the links when we get back into action."

Head volleyball coach Jennifer Jacobs echoed the sentiment of not having a normal schedule, but being able to focus on the task at hand.

"I'm really proud of the way the team stayed focused during the pandemic and ever-changing schedules" Jacobs said. "Any regular season gives us structure to balance academic time with practice and competing, so I am especially impressed with their time management and commitment to their academics.

"This group truly is a special bunch, they are incredibly bright, I am lucky to be their coach, and we all look forward to (hopefully) some competition this Spring."

The award will be given following each semester to the highest GPA for men's and women's teams.