NCAA Div. I Men’s, Women’s Tennis Finals Get Long-Term Home At USTA Campus
Monday, December 9, 2024 at 04:10PM By Barry Janoff
Photo: USTADecember 9, 2024: After previously approving the USTA National Campus in Orlando as host for the Div. I men's and women's tennis finals for 2026 and 2027, the NCAA today approved a long-term championship hosting agreement for Div. I men's and women's tennis in Orlando through 2037.
The Div. I Men's and Women's Tennis Championships will be hosted by the USTA and the University of Central Florida.
The USTA National Campus, which opened in 2017, is located about 20 miles south from UCF.
Financial terms were not shared.
"This is a momentous day for the USTA and for college tennis," Lew Sherr, USTA CEO and executive director, said via the organization.
“Supporting college tennis is a growing priority for the USTA, as it is not only the aspirational dream of youth tennis players across the country but is also an increasingly vital part of the elite player development pathway.”
The 2024 NCAA Div. I Men’s and Women’s singles and doubles Tennis Championships were held last month at Baylor University’s Hurd Tennis Center, Waco, TX. They also are scheduled to be held there in 2025 as part of a two-year fall trial period.
The USTA said it is making an “enhanced financial commitment to the championships, including supplementing existing broadcast agreements and increased fan and community engagement.”
With the proposed improvements, the USTA National Campus will be the only facility with all 12 outdoor competition courts, 20 practice courts and 12 total indoor courts at one site.
Under terms of the deal, the USTA National Campus would host all ten men's and women's team championships in the spring and will include the individual singles and doubles championships if they move back to the spring after the current two-year fall pilot program.
The site would also be an option for singles and doubles championships if the pilot program to hold those championships in the fall becomes permanent.
The USTA is building six additional indoor courts with seating and constructing additional spectator seating for the existing six indoor courts, while adding shade structures at the 12 outdoor competition courts.
An additional capital improvement will see “improved scoreboards for all competition courts, including live scoring and broadcast integration.”
The USTA and UCF jointly hosted the 2019, 2021 and 2023 Div. I Men's and Women's Tennis Championships. They were not held in 2020 due to COVID-19. In 2022, they were held at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex at the University Of Illinois, Champaign, Ill.
In 2023, the event also featured the Div. II and III Men's and Women's Tennis Championships, becoming the first time all tennis championships were conducted at the same site in a festival-style event.
“We are proud to bring this event to Orlando for years to come and are excited to work alongside the NCAA and all our local partners to elevate this event and give college tennis the platform it so richly deserves,” said Sherr.
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