Faribault’s Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf earns first-ever Deaf America Cup

The DAC is a new award that will be awarded every season and is based on a series of criteria across all seasons and both boys and girls sports, including win-loss percentage, top-four tournament finishes and NDIAA National Championships.

MSAD finished with a total score of 228.4 out of 440, more than doubling the second-place score of 100.35 from Alabama in the Division II standings. MSAD captured 51.9 percent of its possible points, while no other school had more than 25.8.

“Our girls and boys did an awesome job this year,” MSAD athletic director Davey Olson said. “They’re dedicated and committed to our athletic program. Not only athletics, but to MSAD as well. Our coaches did a fantastic job this year. I am very appreciative of our parents who showed their outstanding support throughout the year.”

Fremont won the Division I DAC with 354.01 of 665 points, the only school in either division to top MSAD’s 51.9 percent. If MSAD had been slotted into Division I its points total would have been second, ahead of Model Deaf School’s 215.73.

“This is big news, and often people think MSAD is a Tier II school,” Olson said. “That is not true, as I do consider MSAD as one of those elite schools in the country.”

When broken down by gender, MSAD’s boys finished first in Division II with a total of 91.68 points, which was 42.6 percent of their possible total. New Mexico was second with 71.92, for 33.5 percent.

On the girls side, the Trojans also finished first in DII with 136.72 out of 225 points, for a 60.8 percentage. Alabama was second with 66.24 of 225 points, or 29.4 percent.

“Both the boys and girls really showed their hard work and they showed a lot of commitment and dedication to the program,” said MSAD volleyball coach Steve Hubmer. “The kids show their heart and pride for MSAD.”