Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Men's Tennis Coach Bob Bayliss Signs Contract Extension

June 18, 2004

Notre Dame, Ind. – Bob Bayliss has signed a contract extension to continue as head coach of the Notre Dame men’s tennis squad.

Bayliss just completed his 17th year of leading the Notre Dame men’s tennis team and 35th as a collegiate head coach. He boasts a 309-149 (.675) record as the Irish mentor and a career mark of 591-243 (.709). Only four active Division I coaches have more career victories.

Bayliss is one of only four Division I coaches to have led his current team to the NCAA tournament in 13 of the last 14 seasons (including 2004), highlighted by five round-of-16 appearances, a 1993 quarterfinal finish, and a trip to the ’92 national title match, becoming the first northern team and lowest-seeded squad ever to reach the NCAA final. Notre Dame has won 11 conference titles (including the BIG EAST in 2004) under Bayliss, who is a two-time national coach of the year and has been named his league’s top coach on 11 occasions, including 2004.

Irish players under Bayliss have earned All-America honors 17 times and won an unprecedented eight national awards from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, including the National Senior Player of the Year twice in a three-year span. They have gained 16 invitations to the NCAA Singles Championship and 11 berths in the national doubles tournament. Additionally, three former Notre Dame assistants under Bayliss have gone on to become collegiate head coaches.

Bayliss was inducted into the University of Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002 after playing tennis and basketball for the Spiders prior to graduating in 1966. Before his tenure at Notre Dame, he coached at the United States Naval Academy from 1970-84 and at Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1985-87.