Last week, the ITA began accepting nominations for the 2024 ITA David A Benjamin Achievement Award. Entering the Award’s 30th year, the Achievement Award pays tribute to past participants in the world of varsity tennis who have achieved excellence in their chosen career paths. Among the recipients of the prestigious award is Dr. Brian Hainline, a former student-athlete at Notre Dame who was also inducted into the ITA Men’s Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame this past spring.
Earning his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame, Hainline would go on to state the following when it came to the impact of college tennis on his life:
“What was important about that, is that that was the first time I understood that life has purpose, that tennis has purpose, and that tennis gives me purpose,” remarked Hainline. “That was a foundation that I’ll never forget and is the foundation of me being here today.”
Following his graduation from Notre Dame, Hainline continued on to earn his medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and completed his residency in neurology at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center.
Appointed in 2013, Hainline recently announced his retirement as NCAA Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. During his tenure, Hainline founded and oversaw the NCAA Sport Science Institute, which aims to provide college athletes with the best environment for safety, excellence and wellness. He guided the Association in the development of key consensus-based guidance that served the membership in its efforts to support the mental and physical health, safety and performance of student-athletes. Additionally, Hainline was crucial in securing organizational support and funding for the Concussion Assessment, Research, and Education Consortium, the largest concussion and repetitive head impact study in history. To date, CARE has enrolled student-athletes from 30 participating member schools representing 26 NCAA sports.
Prior to the NCAA, Hainline served as the US Open Tennis Championship Chief Medical Officer and the USTA Chief Medical Officer. Hainline was a clinical professor of neurology at New York University Grossman School of Medicine and Indiana University School of Medicine. Along with his professional and educational leadership, Hainline has authored and co-authored nine books, 120 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts, abstracts and textbook chapters, and has co-chaired two International Olympic Committee consensus meetings.
Hanline has long-time been committed to volunteering to the game of tennis, serving as a USTA board member, a founding member of the USTA Sport Science Committee, chair of the USTA Pro Council, and a member and chair of the ITF Sport Science and Medicine Commission. He is also a founding member of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program Review Board for the ATP, ITF and WTA Tour.
Apart from being a David A Benjamin Achievement Award recipient and ITA Men’s Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame member, Hainline was presented the Tennis Educational Merit Award in 2001, an award given to those who have made notable contributions in the tennis education field at the national level and have demonstrated leadership and creative skills. He received the Irving Glick Award of Excellence from the WTA Tour in 2004 for his exemplary contributions as a tournament physician. Hainline was inducted into the USTA Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame in 2011 and the ITF Award for Service to the Game in 2013.
Hainline currently serves as chairman of the board and president of the USTA, is the vice president of the International Tennis Federation, and is a member of the Grand Slam Board.
For more information on the criteria and how to submit a nomination for the ITA David A Benjamin Achievement Award, please see below.
Eligibility:
Applicant must have graduated from a four-year American college and lettered a minimum of one year on the school’s collegiate tennis team.
Award Selection:
The ITA will select a minimum of three finalists from all the applications received to be reviewed by the Selection Panel. One recipient (either a man or woman) will be selected as the 2024 ITA David A Benjamin Achievement Award winner.
Nominations:
To nominate a collegiate tennis player who graduated from your institution, please complete the information requested in the nomination form no later than April 12, 2024.
To view a list of previous winners, please visit the ITA David A Benjamin Achievement Award Page.If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please email Rachel Dagen, [email protected], ITA Director of Special Projects & Executive Administrator.
About the David A Benjamin Achievement Award – The ITA David A Benjamin Achievement Award pays tribute each year to past participants in the world of varsity tennis who have achieved excellence in their chosen careers. The spirit of the award honors both professional success and contributions to society, made either as a direct result of a career, or through humanitarian efforts. In 2015, Margie and Stan Smith endowed the ITA Achievement Award in honor of Benjamin.
About the ITA Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association Men’s and Women’s Halls of Fame aspire to preserve and celebrate the history and further the development of intercollegiate tennis through the collection of historic memorabilia and with inductions of notable players, coaches, and contributors.
About the ITA – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) is the governing body and coaches association of college tennis, both an advocate and an authority for the sport and its members. Comprised of 1,260 colleges and universities, 20,000 student-athletes, 1,700 varsity programs, 3,000 coaches, and 1,350 college tennis officials, the ITA empowers college tennis coaches at all levels to deliver vibrant tennis programs that are vital to their college communities and transformational to their student-athletes. Follow the 2023-24 college tennis season on the ITA website and ITA social channels on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
