How College Tennis Is Growing Through a Changing Landscape | ITA CEO David Mullins

[00:00:00] You're listening to CourtReserve Unscripted with me, Ashley Owens Hi Ashley, sorry about that, I was in the Google Meet invite and just saw the email, so sorry I'm behind schedule How are you?

[00:00:30] I'm great, so nice to see you, how's your day been? It's been good, lots of phone calls, lots of meetings, you know the deal So yeah, one after another, but mostly positive, mostly productive Oh that's good Yeah, yeah, so a good day so far, good day so far I mean, there's a lot of exciting things in your space right now, getting ready for tennis weekend and everything So I'm sure there are a lot of phone calls to go through right now

[00:00:59] Yeah, yeah, well I hope, I feel like it's somewhat out of our hands now, it's kind of in the hands of the coaches And then executing on their plans throughout the weekend, so not to say there's lots of work to be done over the weekend But I actually, I'm heading to Orlando tomorrow for the USTA annual meetings, are you heading out there?

[00:01:22] No, I'm not, but yeah, so if you get bored and you come two hours north to St. Augustine, that's where I'll be tomorrow, so Okay, okay, is that where you're based? Yes, that's right It is, okay, yeah, yeah Well, I'm disappointed because I had this plan to go watch a bunch of college tennis matches I'm out in Phoenix and I thought I'd be able to catch all the matches out here But on Sunday afternoon, I'm going to go to Stetson Okay

[00:01:51] And there's a match that afternoon Okay So I think it's about an hour, I don't know which direction from Orlando But I'm going to go and watch the match there that afternoon, at least catch one before the weekend And so, yeah, not ideal timing, but again, just got to be where you got to be, right? That's right So, well, unscripted is just a way for us to have a conversation and talk about important things So I would love to know, how did you get to the ITA?

[00:02:23] So, I was a college tennis coach for 12 years And I moved back to Ireland in 2016 and was managing a big sports facility back there for several years And the job ITA COO position opened up in 2019 And when I looked at the job description, the roles and responsibilities I just felt like I was the right fit for the role And it really excited me

[00:02:51] And I definitely was looking to get into more the administrative side of tennis When I was back in Ireland, I was serving on committees and board of directors And I would spend more time getting into those projects Than maybe I was doing my own job Don't tell them But it was, yeah, just really captured my imagination and my energy in a way And then to be able to direct that towards college tennis

[00:03:20] Which had such a massive impact on my life as a player And then as a coach And so, yeah, just the stars aligned Our youngest son or our eldest son was getting ready to start high school Or his high school age here in America We felt like if we didn't move back to America at that point Then we weren't going to do it So, just timing like many things in life So, yeah, ended up joining the ITA August 2019

[00:03:47] And then was named CEO January 1st of 2025 So, I guess coming up on seven years this August But have loved it It was the best One of the better decisions I've made in my life Other than the wife and the kid Yeah, got that Exactly Number three Number three But I'll put in the top five for sure Yeah So, did you You grew up in Ireland And then you got a chance to play college tennis in America Is that how you ended up here? Yes, exactly

[00:04:15] So, born and raised Dublin, Ireland And probably 14, 15, 16 Just would start hearing stories of players heading off to America on scholarships Obviously, we had no internet back then And, you know, you're just grabbing whatever information you possibly can at that time And, yeah, probably 15, 16 was very clear that Gosh, that would be an amazing opportunity I'd love to go

[00:04:45] I wasn't good enough Nor were my parents going to allow me to turn pro Education was very important to them And they were willing to allow me to head to America And I played my college tennis at Fresno State And just had the most remarkable experience Played on amazing teams Had a fantastic coach Wonderful teammates Met my wife there And, yeah, owe so much to that experience for sure So, yeah Wow

[00:05:14] What is the thing that most people don't know What it's like about being a college athlete? Because we see the glamour, right? We see the I love watching college tennis on TV Because they're so excited to cheer for their teammates But what do we not know about what it's like to be a college tennis player? I think college tennis in particular Because it's a two-season sport Most other sports have, you know Either their fall season or spring season

[00:05:42] Where they're off maybe playing some exhibition games And not traveling a whole lot But we ask a lot of the tennis playing population Across all divisions Especially at Division I I mean, we take the All-American Championships At Division I in the fall That's If you go through pre-qualifying You're probably gone for 10 days And that's kind of And the fall is considered kind of the non-traditional season So I think

[00:06:13] Maybe underestimate Just how good these student-athletes are At managing their time Because tennis often has the highest GPAs So they're missing more class Than any other sport Yet they're getting higher grades Than many other sports And so I think Yeah, just the day in The day out Day Day in, day out Grind of it Because you never really get And tennis is that way, right? It's a year-round sport

[00:06:43] I mean, these players are They're getting done with their semester in May And then they're going out And playing tournaments all summer It's just the nature of being a tennis player, I guess And we just accept it But don't really take a step back And go Yeah, we're kind of unique Compared to many other athletes At least within college athletics I think you just made the case For me I mean, and all, you know Tennis players in general That we seem to be smarter Than the average athlete, right?

[00:07:13] Is that what I just heard you say? I mean, I play tennis three days a week I'm going to totally take this to my Dinner tonight with my husband And let him know Yeah, we are Let's stand on that And yeah, confirm that We're smarter than everybody else I love that It's It is a unique It's an individual Sport And maybe We're wired a particular way That Yeah, there's certain It's just a really tough sport You know

[00:07:41] To play at the highest levels I think even Taking up the sport Is challenging But I'm just in awe When I watch the best players in the world Or the top college players Just How good at everything They need to be Just physically and mentally It's Yeah, it's an incredible sport And I have a much Deeper appreciation for it now As I head towards 50 Than I did when I was playing myself In college And just taking it for granted Yeah So

[00:08:11] Where do you think College tennis goes next? Like there's pickleball You know Dangling over here on the side You know And then it's the It's the You know Video You know Reviews And the video coaching And video AI And things like that But what's next for college tennis Do you think? Hmm Yeah There's There's There's lots happening In the world Of College The college athletics industry You know People are Following along Maybe they see something

[00:08:41] On the news Every so often Or See an article about it Name, image and likeness Revenue sharing Conference realignments You know But there's There's There's Another layer Under Underneath that as well Impacting Just third level education In this country And enrollment numbers Being down Birth rates Being down The cost of Of a third level education Continuing to rise Limitations on On state or federal funding

[00:09:09] Going to support These institutions Research programs I mean The list is endless So there's a lot of Chaos I guess Within the The college Athletics industry Third level education In general I think we're going to see More and more Universities shut down Merge You're going to see Athletic departments Not just individual sports You're going to see Athletic departments Eliminated completely We saw that on a couple Occasions last year

[00:09:39] So we We have all this Chaos Happening within That aspect of the industry But then within The tennis industry We have A huge amount Of momentum We have all these Great college players Qualifying for Grand slam events Beating some of the Top players in the world Making a name For themselves Referencing college tennis You hear the commentators All they talk about They're falling over Themselves To talk about College tennis And so we have All this great Momentum On this side

[00:10:09] It's a strange Place for me To sit As I'm seeing One area Just complete Madness And another Having these Interesting conversations People wanting to be Involved And promoting College tennis And getting access To the players And coaches And so So I'm trying To navigate All of that And understand Yes Where do we sit How do we make College tennis More relevant Within the College athletics Industry How do we

[00:10:38] Better tell the Stories of college Tennis And promote it To a larger audience Get more people Out to matches Get our coaches Thinking a little bit More entrepreneurial About It's not just About coaching A team You also are Managing a program You're trying To market Your program You're potentially Trying to generate Revenue From your program As well And your courts And that it's Not just about Recruiting players And playing Matches on the weekend And so

[00:11:08] Yeah Technology Is ubiquitous Now with Everything we do In life And we've Invested heavily In technology Through the years We've tried to Pick up more Partners along The way The electronic Line calling World is Fascinating And we partnered With Playtomic Last summer And we've Other folks That we've Done shadowing And piloting With that Will likely Be authorized To be used In the college Space later This year And so We're thrilled

[00:11:38] About that And to see What direction That goes And the Improvements It'll make To sportsmanship And just the Overall experience For everybody But we're Looking at Everything From streaming We're looking At quite honestly Sports wagering As well I mean That's something That has Obviously Had a massive Impact on The ATP WTA ITF UTR Has generated Large revenues For those Organizations We're a not For profit

[00:12:08] If we were To assist With something Like that Those revenues Would be Directed back To college Programs And turn College tennis From a Non-revenue Sport To revenue Sport Now I have Many ethical Concerns About that I have Concerns About You know If tennis Was embroiled In a scandal Would they Just start Shutting down Tennis programs So it's But I Wouldn't be Doing my Job If I Wasn't Looking at All these Different Options So lots Going on Ashley

[00:12:38] We just Yeah have To be careful We don't Move too Late or Too early With anything Wow Well we Work at Court Reserve With several College and Universities Around the Country For their Facilities Or maybe Their faculty Club And so We love Being able To think In some Way that We are Helping You know These young Community Based players Be able to Go and Play on a College campus Or a University Setting And using Our software

[00:13:07] And then One day Want to go Into tennis To then One day Be an Instructor Or a Coach Or something Like that So What do You think About As far as Like in the Future You know Developing These players Into incredible Tennis coaches Because I Think we Need more I love Tennis I think Tennis is A great Sport for People to Play You can Play it It's the Healthiest Sport in The world Now right That's right But how How do we

[00:13:37] Keep college Players going Into the Profession Yes it's Definitely something we've Given more Thought to in Recent Years Especially With USTA Developing USTA Coaching And we Are working Closely with Them We have a Director of Coach Education Lauren Conching Again we're A very Small Organization We only Have 13 Staff Members We're a Fully Remote Organization But Understand The Importance Of Coach Education And Traditionally Had only Done an Annual

[00:14:06] Coaches Convention And Recognized That we Can't just Meet once A year And throw A bunch Of Information At coaches And expect Them to Retain It and Implement It And so Over the Last Several Years We've Really Invested In That And Also Thinking And

[00:14:37] How Are We Replacing Those Folks That Ultimately Are Going To Retire Over The Next Several Years And Make This An Exciting Interesting Profession For The Next Generation Because As A College Coach Early In My Career My First Job Paid Me Ten Thousand Dollars As A College Coach I Had To Go Out And Teach A Bunch Of Lessons And Summers And Grind Away And Did That For Many Years To Establish My Credibility

[00:15:07] As A College Coach And Was Able To Do That On A Full Time Basis And So It's It's Clear That Coaches Early In

[00:15:45] We Obviously Don't Don't You Know We Have Many Touch Points With Them Throughout The Year At Events That We Do We Have A Student Athlete Council We Do Webinars To Help With Their Professional Development We

[00:16:15] Pipeline So Our Sport Is Safe For Generations To Come I Hope Absolutely And To Know It's A Phenomenal Profession To Be Associated With It's Looked At Lawyers And Doctors And Dentists And Tennis Coaches Should Be Right Up There Because They're Doing The Grind They're They're Able To Coach Little Kids And Ladies Like Me And Seniors And So I Think That

[00:16:45] To You Know Help Mentor Push People Along On The Business Side You Know We're All About That So We Love The Educational Side Of What We Get To Do So Yeah Yeah Look It's It's Why I'm In This Industry You Know From The College Tennis Side Of Things It's Supposed To Be About Education It's Supposed To Be The Student First Athlete Second So We Try And Keep That In Mind Even Though You Know We Do Rankings And Tournaments And Everybody Is Very Competitive We Can't Lose Side Of Of What

[00:17:15] College Athletics Is A Many Of Them Are Phenomenal Coaches Want To Coach Want To Stay In This Country And

[00:17:44] Teach Tennis And Yeah How Do We Assist With Them Staying In This Country And Getting The Requisite Visas And Going Through That Process And Because They Can Add A Great Deal Of Value Like I Hope I'm Doing As A Former International Student Athlete And So That's Something I'm Conscious Of As Well And I Know USTA And USTA Coaching Are Trying To Work On That Element As Well So Yeah It's Definitely Something We're Paying

[00:18:14] Attention To That's Awesome So If You Had To Get Back Out On The Court And Play Doubles Who Would You I Just Love I Mean Getting To What I Mean I Actually Had The Pleasure Of Coaching Against His Father When He Was At Georgia Tech And Then Got To See Ben Play When I Joined The

[00:18:44] ITA And His Runs With The Team At The NCAA Tournament And Then His Own Runs With The

[00:19:19] NCAA Individual Tournaments His Father Brian Is Just One Of The Best People We've Had In Our College Coaching Profession And He Served On Committees And Board Of Directors And Just So Thoughtful Gracious Kind Was Wonderful To Me As I Was Getting My Coaching Career Started As Well So I Obviously Have An Affinity For For Cheering For The Shelton Family That's Awesome Well I Just Want To Thank You Again For Allowing Us To Spend With You Today We Are So

[00:19:49] Excited To Partnered With ITA For College Weekend And This Year To Continue To Push The Sport Forward So Thanks Again Oh Ashley Thank You For Your Support I Mean This Is Incredible It's The First Year We're Doing This College Tennis Weekend It Was An Idea We Drummed Up In Some Brainstorming Session With Our Staff To See It Come To Life And For You To Support In The Way You Have We're Able To Get A lot More Attention And And Push It Out And Spend Additional

[00:20:18] Dollars On Promoting It So I Can't Thank You Enough We Can't Do This Alone Like I Said We're A Very Small Organization So Yeah I'm So Appreciative So Thank You