Arkansas tennis programs reinstated weeks after announcement of discontinuation

FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas announced Thursday it will reinstate its men’s and women’s tennis programs effective immediately.

The announcement came 20 days after the Razorbacks announced they would cut both programs. There has been a groundswell of support to keep the tennis programs since that announcement.

Supporters have raised roughly $2.5 million cash in funds to pay for the program in 2026-27 and received pledges for another $2.5 million for a total of $5 million in new donations.

“Following extensive analysis and in alignment with our strategic priorities, we made the difficult decision earlier this spring to discontinue our men’s and women’s tennis programs,” Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek said in a statement. “Since that announcement, we have engaged in meaningful dialogue with stakeholders, including alumni and donors, to explain our rationale and listen to their concerns. We are thankful for our generous donors that have stepped forward in recent days with commitments to provide short-term funding for both programs.

“While this support does not represent a permanent solution, it offers a viable path forward. Accordingly, I have recommended to Chancellor [Charles] Robinson that we reinstate both programs effective immediately and allow our head coaches to begin preparations for the 2026-27 season.”

Yurachek said “significant endowment remains the only feasible long-term solution to ensure the sustainability of our tennis programs.” An athletics department spokesman said the department is seeking a $50 million endowment, of which 5% would be used to cover the annual operating expenses for both programs.

“Over the next year, the Department of Athletics and the Razorback Foundation will closely monitor the progress of this endowment effort,” Yurachek said, “ensuring it does not detract from any of our broader fundraising priorities and confirming that significant progress is being made to acquire the necessary funds for the tennis programs' long-term sustainability past this initial investment.”

Nate Hinkel, director of communications for the UA System, wrote in an email that system president Jay Silveria communicated his support to Yurachek and Robinson to reinstate the programs in light of the new donations.

“President Silveria views this development as a unique opportunity for supporters of the program — and most importantly, for the coaches and student athletes — to continue competition at the university for the coming season,” Hinkel wrote.

With the reinstatement of the tennis teams, Arkansas will continue to sponsor 19 sports — 11 for women and eight for men. The tennis programs would have been the first cut by the Razorbacks since men’s swimming and diving in 1993.

Schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the NCAA are required to sponsor a minimum of 16 sports. Every SEC school has a women’s tennis team. Missouri is the only school in the conference that does not have a men's team.

According to Arkansas’ data submitted as part of the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act, the Razorbacks reported 21 athletes (11 men and 10 women) in tennis in 2023-24, the most recent publicly available year. The majority of the athletes listed on both teams’ rosters this year are international players.

Arkansas reported more than $2.6 million in combined expenses on the tennis teams and $9,556 in attributable revenue to those teams in 2023-24. The Razorbacks had planned to “broadly” reallocate the money spent on tennis to other budgets within the athletics program.

The financial ramifications of the COVD-19 pandemic and the House v. NCAA settlement have left Olympic sports like tennis vulnerable to being cut in recent years, but for the most part those cuts have been felt at smaller schools that compete at lower levels of the NCAA or in the NAIA. But since Arkansas announced it would cut its programs, Saint Louis and North Dakota have announced they will cut both tennis teams, and Illinois State announced it would cut its men’s tennis team.

The Razorbacks have sponsored a men’s tennis team since 1955 and a women’s team since 1980. The men’s team had great success on a national level in the early 1980s, including 1982 when Peter Doohan and Pat Serret won the NCAA doubles title one year after finishing runner-up.

Arkansas’ men made the NCAA Tournament this year for the second time in three seasons and lost 4-3 to Cornell in the first round in Fort Worth, Texas. The Razorbacks’ women’s team missed the NCAA postseason for the third consecutive year.

The men’s team was coached for the fourth season by Jay Udwadia, a former Razorback letterman, and the women’s team was coached for the third season by Tucker Clary.

This story will be updated.

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