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John Bryant

Men's Tennis Coach

 

 

 

Now in his 44th year at SBU, John Bryant serves as the men's varsity tennis coach and an associate professor of mathematics. In 2005, Bryant became head coach of the women's varsity tennis team. Bryant served as the director of athletics from 1989 to 1995.

He holds an associate of arts degree from Southwest Baptist, a bachelor of science and masters of education from Mississippi College, and a masters of arts degree from the University of Illinois. He is a member of two hall of fames, after being inducted into SBU’s hall in 1982 (and again in 2009) and previously the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1973, he earned SBU's Distinguished Teacher award and then in 1997 he was given the Governor's Award for Teaching.

From 1967-86, SBU tennis won 18 NAIA District 16 titles, played in 19 consecutive NAIA national tournaments and won the 1984 co-national championship. He was named NAIA District 16 Coach of the Year 18 times and also has served as President of the NAIA Tennis Coaches Association twice during that span. In 1983, he picked up the NAIA National Coach of the Year and then did it again in 1990 after SBU became a member of the NCAA Division II. Bryant has served as Chair of the NCAA D-II Tennis Committee for 7 years, ITA Board of Directors for 8 years, and ITA National Ranking Chair for 8 years.

SBU was a member of the NAIA in 1966-87. SBU became a member of the NCAA Division II and joined the MIAA in 1988, the Bearcats have played in the NAIA national championships19 times and 18 times in NCAA national tournaments

Bryant currently has 14 MIAA men's tennis championships and 18 national tournaments. The 18 nationals is third all-time in the NCAA Division II, while the 14 MIAA championships is tied for the most all-time in the MIAA since 1953. He also coached the SBU women's tennis team to the first MIAA title in any sport in SBU history in 2008 and was named MIAA Coach of the Year in both men's and women's tennis.

Bryant is married to Dr. Judy Bryant, Chair Department of Education and Director of Teacher Education. They have one daughter, Jana, a SBU graduate in '89 and a radiologiest in Springfield, Mo.

Honors
Southwest Baptist	36 Nationally-Ranked Teams 18 NCAA Division II National Tournament Appearances 19 NAIA National Tournament Appearances 18 NAIA District 16 Titles 12 MIAA Coach of the Year awards 98 All-District Selections 99 All-MIAA Selections 41 All-Americans 4 Academic all-American teams (2002, 2003, 2006, 2007) 22 Academic All-Americans 2 National Coach of the Year (1983, 1990)
Hall of Fame	NAIA Hall of Fame (1987) SBU Athletics Hall of Fame (1982 & 2009 - '84 team)
Distinguished Awards	SBU Distinguished Teacher (1973) Governor's Award for Teaching (1997)

National Champions For Bryant
Year	Player	Championship
2004	Dante Cipulli	NCAA D-II Singles, Small Colleges Super Bowl Champion
2002	Andras Bori, Mark Eori	NCAA D-II Doubles
1993	Michael Obertop	NCAA D-II Singles
1984	Kevin Kopp, Gregg Yarbrough	NAIA Doubles
1983	Alvaro Jordan	NAIA Singles
Team National Championship
1984	SBU	NAIA Co-National Championship

Arthur Ashe Award Winners For Bryant
Year	Player	Award
2004	Mark Eori	Arthur Ashe Regional Award
2003	Andras Bori	Arthur Ashe Regional Award
1999	Russell Vost	Arthur Ashe Regional Award
1994	Michael Obertop	Arthur Ashe National Award
1992	Jordan Sanchez	Arthur Ashe National Award
1990	Gary Jones	Arthur Ashe National Award

National Player Awards
Year	Division	Player	Award
1983	NAIA	Alvaro Jordan	Sportsmanship Award
2005	NCAA D-II	Dante Cipuille	Senior Player of the Year
2007	NCAA D-II	Alex Kacamakis	Rookie of the Year