Tempe, AZ – As one of the many storied Division I college tennis programs on the west coast, Fresno State University, under the oversight of Head Coach Denise Dy, have turned their tennis facility into a sustainable revenue generator.
Selected for a USTA Collegiate Community Hub Grant, a one-time grant up to $10,000 aimed to engage the local community by offering playing opportunities on your campus, Fresno State has turned this grant into a sustainable business model that has already been very successful.
From the summer of 2024 to the end of the year, membership at the on-campus courts increased from 20 members to over 200. These members included local on-campus clubs (tennis & pickleball) as well as local community groups who wanted to use the Fresno State tennis courts for their programming.
Some of this programming included Fresno State Tennis and Pickleball Camps, Bulldog Pickleball Kickoff Party, Adaptive Tennis Clinics, North vs. South Wheelchair Challenge, as well as weekly tennis, pickleball, and wheelchair programs.
In total, these efforts have brought together thousands of members of the student-body and local Fresno community to take part in playing opportunities at the Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center.
Through just six months, Fresno State has used this grant to create 20 new student jobs and have raised roughly six thousand dollars which can be used for facility upgrades, team meals, equipment, and any other day-to-day expenses that might arise.
As just one of many programs who have benefited from the USTA Collegiate Community Hub Grant, the Fresno State program is a shining example of how a program is making the most with the resources available to them.
To find out more about the USTA Collegiate Community Hub Grant please visit the USTA website to see how your program can make the most of your facility through this opportunity.
The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level — from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization, it invests 100 percent of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, one of the highest-attended annual sporting events in the world, along with approximately 100 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., and selects the teams for Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships in addition to supporting tennis and education programs nationwide to benefit under-resourced youth through the National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network. For more information about the USTA, go to USTA.com or follow the official accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X) and TikTok.
The ITA is the governing body of college tennis and a coaches association, both an advocate and an authority for the sport and its members. The ITA is committed to serving college tennis and returning the leaders of tomorrow while promoting both the athletic and academic achievements of the collegiate tennis community. The ITA, founded in 1956, is comprised of more than 2,000 men’s and women’s varsity tennis teams representing more than 1,250 institutions, 3,000 college tennis coaches, 1,400 college tennis officials, while administering numerous regional and national championships, and the ITA College Tennis Rankings for 20,000 college varsity student-athletes across five levels of play. The ITA also bolsters an industry-leading awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership, and sportsmanship. Keep up with all of the excitement around college tennis by visiting WeAreCollegeTennis.com and following the ITA on Facebook, Twitter (X), Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
