Monday, January 31, 2005

            JOHNSON CITY, TENN. (Jan. 31, 2005) - At an induction ceremony scheduled for Friday, Feb. 4, 2005 at the Airport Marriott in Nashville, East Tennessee State University Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Dave Mullins will be inducted into the Tennessee Tennis Hall of Fame.

            Mullins will join a group of inductees that include Thay Butchee, Geoge McIntosh and John Nixon of Nashville, Louise George of Germantown, Rogers McCall of Bristol, Kay McDaniel of Cleveland and Martha Ferriss Parker or Florence, Ala. The inaugural Tennessee Tennis Hall of Fame class was inducted in 1992, and the eight honorees in 2005 mark the largest inductee class since 1993, when nine were inducted.

            "I am honored to have been selected for the Tennessee Tennis Hall of Fame, particularly because my 40 plus years of involvement in this great sport have given me so much fun and so many great relationships," Mullins said. "Having loved the competition myself as a player, I have enjoyed even more the chance to coach so many great college players and teach so many young people and adults. Seeing my players succeed and watching beginners improve and get so much from the sport has been reward in itself. 

"This award is just icing on the cake. While running events and raising money has been a demanding part of my job, the life-long friends I've gained and the growth of the sport in our community have been very gratifying. Now that I'm not on the court coaching 8 or 10 hours a day because of my new job, I really look forward to the once or twice a week I actually get to play again."

            While he has enjoyed his position as Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at East Tennessee State University for the past two years, Mullins spent the previous 34 years coaching tennis at all levels, earning the respect of his private pupils, collegiate players and coaching peers. In fact, he was selected as Southern Conference Coach of the Year six times. During his 16 years as head coach at ETSU, the Buccaneers won 78 percent of their conference matches, five Southern Conference regular season titles, five tournament championships, produced five SoCon Players of the Year, and participated in two NCAA Championships.

            Individual Buccaneers garnered numerous All-Conference awards, national and regional rankings under Mullins' guidance. Mullins' squads at ETSU also excelled academically, with nine players earning ITA Academic All-America honors and the squad receiving ITA Academic All-America Team recognition in 1999 and 2002. Prior to ETSU, Mullins was the head coach at Roane State Community College (1978-1987), where he guided the men's and women's teams to junior college national rankings each year. Mullins began his coaching career at Harriman High School, starting the school's tennis program and coaching there from 1972-1978.

            Whether through coaching championship teams, instructing amateur players through private lessons, or developing organizations that promote the game, Mullins has always believed in the positive influence that tennis can provide to a community. For example, Mullins founded the Roane County Tennis Association in 1972 and worked closely with Rogers McCall to begin the Mountain Empire Tennis Association (META) in Northeast Tennessee and the Southwest Virginia areas. In addition, Mullins utilized the game to raise funds for his program at ETSU, starting the Little Caesars/ETSU Tennis Championships for juniors and adults, hosted ITA Summer Circuit events, the ETSU Snow Volleys Doubles Championships, the ETSU Fall Collegiate Championships, and the Citizen's Bank Collegiate Clay Court Championships.

           Through his tennis camps at Roane State and ETSU, Mullins introduced hundreds of juniors and adults to tennis. He served as the Chair of the Southern Conference tennis committee for six years and on the ITA National Ranking Committee for three. Mullins earned his bachelor's degree in English from Samford University in 1968 and earned his master's degree in English Education from the University of Tennessee in 1974. He is married to Jacque Hamilton Mullins and has two daughters, Brooke and Julie, and two granddaughters, Taylar and Holly.

         For more information regarding reservations for this event, please contact the USTA Tennessee office at 800-521-4936.