NAIA Tennis Championships Land in Mobile, Alabama
Aug 11th, 2003
OLATHE, Kan. -- The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced that the 2004 and 2005 NAIA Tennis National Championships will be held in the city of Mobile, Alabama.The men's and women's championships will be staged at the Mobile Tennis Center, which includes 50 courts. The dates for next year's tournament are May 17-21 with the 2005 tournament tentatively scheduled for May 16-20. Those occasions will mark the first time both championships have been held with all matches being played at one venue simultaneously.
The Mobile Area Sports Commission will serve as the host of the event. NAIA member Spring Hill University will serve as the host institution along with the sports commission.
"Mobile Tennis Center's huge fifty court facility provides an excellent venue for an event of this stature. We plan on adding a little good ole Southern hospitality to make these tournaments the best ever," said Mobile Area Sports Commission president Danny Corte.
NAIA President and CEO Steve Baker adds: "We're excited to have the Mobile Area Sports Commission become the official host for the NAIA men's and women’s tennis tournaments. The NAIA has held our women’s soccer national championship in the city of Mobile with tremendous success and I am confident the effort and success will be repeated with the tennis championships, to the benefit of our student-athletes."
The NAIA offered the first men's tennis national championship in 1952 and was the first to offer intercollegiate championship opportunities for women when it held championships in nine women's sports in 1980.
Contact:
Dawn Harmon
Director of Sports Information
(913) 791-0044
Founded as a small-college basketball tournament in 1937, the NAIA is a leader in the world of intercollegiate athletics. The NAIA was the first intercollegiate organization to offer athletic opportunities to all student-athletes, regardless of race or ethnic background, and the first intercollegiate organization to conduct championships for both men and women. In 2001, the NAIA established the "Champions of Character" initiative, which promotes character values that help student-athletes and youth to succeed both in athletics and in life. The NAIA currently offers 23 separate championships in 13 sports, and has 307 colleges and universities in 44 states and three Canadian provinces as member institutions.