Eck Tennis Pavilion

Since its completion in June of 1987, Notre Dame's Eck Tennis Pavilion has been as integral part of the success of Irish tennis,

allowing the team to practice year-round, regardless of weather conditions, and providing an alternative surface to further develop the all-around skills of Notre Dame’s players. Additionally, it has become an extremely difficult place for opponents to be victorious and has attracted some of the top events in collegiate tennis.

“It is truly one of the great collegiate indoor tennis facilities in the country,” say Irish tennis coaches Ryan Sachire and Jay Louderback.

The combination of the Eck Tennis Pavilion and Courtney Tennis Center has allowed the University of Notre Dame to play host to a number of prestigious events, including serving as the site of the NCAA Championships in 1994 for men’s tennis and in 1998 for women’s tennis. In all, Notre Dame has been the site of NCAA action on 18 occasions, including every year from 1994-2002 for either men or women’s play. The Eck Tennis Pavilion has three times welcomed Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Midwest Region Indoor Championships and six times helped play host to the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Championship. The facility has provided additional courts for the men’s Tom Fallon Invitational and Bobby Bayliss Invitational and has been the home of the women’s Eck Classic for 18 years.

In September 1988, the Eck Pavilion received the 1988 United States Tennis Association Award for architectural design.

As a result, the USTA presented the facility with a handsome wooden plaque, a large sign placed in front of the pavilion and a complimentary one-year membership in the USTA. In addition, the facility and its award are recognized in an inscription on a large mahogany board displayed in the lobby of the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow, N.Y.

The facility was underwritten by Franklin E. Eck. He is chairman and chief executive officer of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc., which produces corrugated plastic drainage pipe for agricultural and commercial purposes.

A 1944 graduate in chemical engineering at Notre Dame, Eck earned an M.B.A. from Harvard in 1949.

In 1984, he endowed a collection in chemical engineering in Notre Dame’s Hesburgh Library.

The generosity of Eck has enabled many additions to the University’s campus in recent years. His donations to the University have totaled more than $35 million, and made such structures as the Eck Hall of Law, the Eck Visitor’s Center, and Frank Eck Baseball Stadium possible.