Endowment Campaign at Center of Plan to Preserve College Tennis

The University of Georgia men’s tennis team huddles up before the 2009 NCAA championship. (Photo courtesy of the ITA)

One of the country’s leading sports marketers has a new job: Securing the future of college tennis. John Embree, a longtime sales-and-marketing executive at Wilson Sporting Goods and Prince Sports, has signed on to help the Intercollegiate Tennis Association build an endowment to preserve the college game.

Some 250 college tennis programs have been cut during the past decade, and the ITA, the sport’s governing body, wants to do its part in preventing any more losses. The association itself is operating at a deficit, and it hopes private donors will provide a financial jolt. Volvo and Rolex, two corporate sponsors, have gone away, leaving the association to rely largely on membership fees from its 1,700 member coaches from the NCAA, NAIA, and junior colleges to cover its $800,000 budget. The ITA, which maintains player rankings and runs national and regional tournaments, among other programs, hopes to build a fund of $16-million to $20-million  to sustain itself and the sport.

This is the second time the association has tried to start an endowment. Two years ago it brought on Jerry Noyce, a former coach at the University of Minnesota, to start an effort. But when the economy tanked, the ITA set aside its plans. Embree has offered his consulting services until at least the end of this year.

So far it’s been a tough sell. College coaches have been reluctant to pass along names of wealthy alumni, for fear of losing donations to their own teams. Embree promises he’s not out to poach players: “I’m after the one or two people who are big enough they can do both,” he says he tells coaches. “The last thing we want to do is take money away from local programs.”

A self-described fund-raising novice, he hopes to use his vast network and sales savvy to his advantage. “I’ve reached out to a lot of people,” says Embree, who played tennis at Washington and Lee University. “The college coaching fraternity is one of the best groups of people in the industry. They work extremely hard, aren’t paid much, and have such an impact on young people. I want to try to help them and help the game.”