Great story on best college teams

[johnyandell]

http://www.insidetennis.com/2018/08/top-10-mens-college-teams-of-all-time/

[doctorhl]

Great article. As a Texan, I remember the Trinity days. Throw in the late 70’s locals at Rice University/SMU like a Harold Solomon and Mike Estep and Kevin Curren at Texas. Curren was brought in by Cliff Drysdale who played on a pretty good Beaumont, Texas team at Lamar University along with Frank Parker. Tulane ‘s Ham Richardson Also helped contribute to pretty good 50’s, 60’ 70’s southern collegiate tennis.Interest in collegiate tennis seemed to decline as the 80’s brought in Title IX along with NCAA requirements to carry more sports which contributed to diversifying the athletic fan base. Cultural and technological changes increased the competition for people’s entertainment dollar and it now seems that “live” collegiate tennis no longer gets its due.

[don_budge]

Great article. As a Texan, I remember the Trinity days. Throw in the late 70’s locals at Rice University/SMU like a Harold Solomon and Mike Estep and Kevin Curren at Texas. Curren was brought in by Cliff Drysdale who played on a pretty good Beaumont, Texas team at Lamar University along with Frank Parker. Tulane ‘s Ham Richardson Also helped contribute to pretty good 50’s, 60’ 70’s southern collegiate tennis.Interest in collegiate tennis seemed to decline as the 80’s brought in Title IX along with NCAA requirements to carry more sports which contributed to diversifying the athletic fan base. Cultural and technological changes increased the competition for people’s entertainment dollar and it now seems that “live” collegiate tennis no longer gets its due.

The article further confirms what I have been saying all along about tennis in general and it highlights why American tennis is in the dumpster. All of those great college tennis teams and all of that great sportsmanship and competition gone from the radar screen. I remember when I was growing up and developing as a tennis player I always had it in the back of my mind that there would be a college scholarship available if I reached a certain level. I managed to get a scholarship at a local community college and then to a college in the MidWest conference. While we didn't play at the same level as the bigger colleges we did get the opportunity to play some of those bigger colleges and get a taste of the "levels of the game".

Tennis was great up until the equipment started to change and then the great tennis being played was more of an illusion than anything else. Interesting that the decline of college tennis coincided with the equipment change. You know...there are no accidents. Conspiracy theories are all too often containing more truth than the "conventional wisdom". The tennis in the days of the great teams in the article was "real". Today we have fake tennis just as we have fake news.

Texas tennis had some great days too. The college system was a great farm system for tennis players in a sport that wasn't as richly funded as the bigger American sports. It was certainly a way for the junior player to transition to the men's game. Interesting how the tennis has devolved without this built in farm system. The players never seem to get out of the junior game. Perhaps it is a lack of education and/or foresight.

Title IX has had a detrimental effect on college sports in general. I know the college that I went to in the 70's no longer has a mens tennis team. Many of the larger colleges these days dole out their scholarships to foreign players and the domestic competitive population is left to their own devices. You know what...it basically sucks.

[don_budge]

https://getsomemaction.com/news/2018...on-awards.aspx

The conference I used to play in...nearly all foreigner recruits now apparently.

[doctorhl]

The article further confirms what I have been saying all along about tennis in general and it highlights why American tennis is in the dumpster. All of those great college tennis teams and all of that great sportsmanship and competition gone from the radar screen. I remember when I was growing up and developing as a tennis player I always had it in the back of my mind that there would be a college scholarship available if I reached a certain level. I managed to get a scholarship at a local community college and then to a college in the MidWest conference. While we didn't play at the same level as the bigger colleges we did get the opportunity to play some of those bigger colleges and get a taste of the "levels of the game".

Tennis was great up until the equipment started to change and then the great tennis being played was more of an illusion than anything else. Interesting that the decline of college tennis coincided with the equipment change. You know...there are no accidents. Conspiracy theories are all too often containing more truth than the "conventional wisdom". The tennis in the days of the great teams in the article was "real". Today we have fake tennis just as we have fake news.

Texas tennis had some great days too. The college system was a great farm system for tennis players in a sport that wasn't as richly funded as the bigger American sports. It was certainly a way for the junior player to transition to the men's game. Interesting how the tennis has devolved without this built in farm system. The players never seem to get out of the junior game. Perhaps it is a lack of education and/or foresight.

Title IX has had a detrimental effect on college sports in general. I know the college that I went to in the 70's no longer has a mens tennis team. Many of the larger colleges these days dole out their scholarships to foreign players and the domestic competitive population is left to their own devices. You know what...it basically sucks.

Collegiate tennis, in my opinion, helped prepare players for the Davis Cup. The “prima donna” player was not often tolerated because most coaches
were salaried and didn’t mind pulling a player’s scholarship if it was warranted. Player’s were taught the team concept and self sacrifice was a part of
that concept.

[don_budge]

Collegiate tennis, in my opinion, helped prepare players for the Davis Cup. The “prima donna” player was not often tolerated because most coaches were salaried and didn’t mind pulling a player’s scholarship if it was warranted. Player’s were taught the team concept and self sacrifice was a part of
that concept.

1. USC, 1962-1964
2. Stanford, 1978
3. UCLA,1971
4. USC, 1967-1968
5. UCLA, 1971
5. Trinity, 1962-1965
6. UCLA, 1965-1966
7. Stanford, 1973-1974
8. Stanford, 1998
9. Trinity, 1972
10. USC, 2011-2013


Davis Cup? Teamwork? doctorhl...what planet are you from? These are old fashioned concepts. "It's beating a dead horse" as I was informed here on the forum. Talking about the past. It's forbidden. The present rules. So...so superior times. Not.

The whole collegiate tennis scene was a different world back then. Look at the dates of those teams. Here is a website dedicated to that 1972 Trinity TEAM. You guys should read through this website thoroughly. It is all about TEAM as doctorhl is alluding to with the Davis Cup comments.

https://spmt3314.omeka.net/exhibits/show/1972-mens-tennis-team--geoff-b

The "New Davis Cup" will debut in 2018 as well. Do you see how the past is being gobbled up by the present? I know...it's progress. But I am skeptical of a lot of it. A whole lot of it.

https://www.daviscup.com/274206?channel=daviscupnews

Title IX certainly took it toll but it was the perhaps the free agency decision regarding Curt Flood in 1969 that put another nail in the coffin for sports. For traditional sports. Then it became all about the money. All about "ME". Goodbye team concept. A thing of the past at this point.

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/07/how-curt-flood-changed-baseball-and-killed-his-career-in-the-

Now I will leave to you guys to show me how things have actually improved.