Billy Pate Staff

Billy Pate, head men[apos]s tennis coach at Georgia Perimeter College from 1996-2000 and a 1991 graduate of Mississippi State, is in his second year as assistant men[apos]s tennis coach at the University of Notre Dame. Pate joined Bob Bayliss? staff in July 2000 after leading Georgia Perimeter to its third-straight national junior college championship in 2000.

His responsibilities at Notre Dame include serving as recruiting coordinator and as liaison with Notre Dame?s strength and conditioning coaches. The Starkville, Miss., native also handles on-court and individual coaching and various administrative duties.

Pate led Georgia Perimeter to National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Championships in his final three of five seasons there and led the Jaguars to an 87-43 record while playing over 85 percent of the schedule against top four-year programs. In addition to coaching several junior college All-Americans, Pate also coached Mario Toledo, the only two-time winner of the NJCAA Player-of-the-Year Award. Pate earned the Max Grubbs national junior college coach-of-the-year honor three times (1998-2000) and earned the United States Professional Tennis Association national college coach-of-the-year award in 1999. He also was honored as the NJCAA regional coach of the year five times (1996-2000) and USPTA Southern Division College Coach of the year in 1998 and 1999. He served as head pro of the Concourse Athletic Club from 1997-99 while at Georgia Perimeter.

Prior to becoming head coach at Georgia Perimeter, Pate served as the college[apos]s sports information director while also working with the Atlanta Thunder of the World Team Tennis League and such players as Martina Navratilova, Bjorn Borg, Chanda Rubin, Zina Garrison and Ken Flach. He held numerous roles with the Thunder, including stadium operations director, community relations director and assistant coach from 1993-95. Pate also was employed as head pro for the Ralston-Gorman International Tennis Academy while completing his master[apos]s degree in sports administration in 1995 from Georgia State, where he also served as a graduate assistant to the athletic director from 1993-94.

Pate played professionally in United States Tennis Association satellite tournaments following his graduation from Mississippi State in 1994. He played in a number of professional events in Atlanta and was the top-ranked player in 1995 and 1996 in the South region men[apos]s open doubles rankings. Pate was honored as the 1997 and 1999 Georgia Professional Tennis Association male player of the year, while he also was ranked second nationally in men[apos]s open doubles by the USPTA. He held a number of leadership roles within the Georgia tennis community, including the position of vice-president of the GPTA, which honored him with the 1998 Outstanding Achievement Award.

Pate was actively involved in various leadership capacities within the Georgia tennis scene and was an active member of the GPTA, as he served as vice president of the organization. He has earned awards from the USPTA for Southern Division Rookie of the Year (1997), and Southern Division College Coach of the Year (1998 and 1999). He has been named NJCAA Division II Coach of the Year three times (1998-2000) and NJCAA Regional College Coach of the Year from 1996 through 2000. The Georgia Tennis Association named Pate the college coach of the year in 1998 and 2000 while the GPTA honored him with the Outstanding Achievement Award in 1998. Pate is a certified tester with the USPTA and also serves on the advisory staff of the College Tennis Academy in Tampa, Fla.

The Starkville, Miss., native helped Mississippi State reach the Southeastern Conference championship match as a senior in 1991. Pate also helped the Bulldogs break into the national top 10 rankings for the first time in 20 years during his collegiate playing days.