PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Commissioner Mike Aresco has announced that Southern Methodist University senior volleyball standout and 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year Avery Acker has been named the 2015-16 American Athletic Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The selection was made by the Conference’s Academic Affairs Committee.
The Poth, Texas, native, a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America selection, will receive a $4,000 scholarship to apply to her professional studies. The conference also announced the female winners of the 2015-16 American Athletic Conference Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarships. Each institutional winner receives a $2,000 scholarship.
Acker led the Mustangs to a program-best 27 wins and the school’s first conference championship in 2015. SMU finished with a 27-6 mark overall and 17-3 record in conference play to earn The American’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. Acker led the NCAA with 12.45 assists per set, while also setting an SMU and American single-season record with 1,482 assists.
A three-year starter and three-time captain, Acker was named The American Player of the Year for the second consecutive year last fall. She also earned AVCA honorable mention All-America honors and AVCA all-Southeast Region team accolades for the third straight year and was The American's Setter of the Year in 2014.
Acker earned a 3.941 grade-point average as an accounting major with a minor in chemistry and biological sciences, graduating summa cum laude in December. She is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Leadership and participates in community service projects at the Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas.
The American Athletic Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is one of a number of scholarships presented by the conference during the 2015-16 academic year. One male and one female from each of the conference’s 11 member institutions may be named as the winners of the conference’s Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarships. The conference also names male and female Basketball Scholar-Athletes of the Year and a Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
2015-16 American Athletic Conference Institutional Female Scholar-Athlete Awards
Faculty Athletic Representatives at each American Athletic Conference institution, in consultation with the Director of Athletics and appropriate athletic academic advisors, may annually nominate one female candidate for an Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarship. All nominees must have maintained both excellent academic credentials (minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.00) and outstanding athletic performance; must have competed in an American Athletic Conference-sponsored sport; and must have attained a minimum of senior standing, as determined by the respective institution.
| School |
Name |
Sport(s) |
Major |
| UCF |
Sophia Baptista |
Tennis |
Civil Engineering |
| Cincinnati |
Emma Robertson |
Volleyball |
Communication |
| UConn |
Emily Howard |
Cross Country |
Exercise Science |
| East Carolina |
Kendall Fry |
Soccer |
Communication |
| Houston |
Olivia O’Dell |
Volleyball |
Supply Chain Management |
| Memphis |
Carolina Carmichael |
Track & Field |
Sport and Leisure Management |
| SMU |
Avery Acker |
Volleyball |
Accounting |
| USF |
Erica Nunn |
Softball |
Statistics |
| Temple |
Alyssa Drachslin |
Volleyball |
Political Science |
| Tulane |
Daliadiz Ortiz |
Track & Field |
Communication and Public Relations |
| Tulsa |
Marissa Catalanotto |
Rowing |
Biochemistry |
American Athletic Conference Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year
2013-14 Nicole Scott, Swimming & Diving, Rutgers
2014-15 Kadi Kullerkann, Volleyball, Houston
2015-16 Avery Acker, Volleyball, SMU