UVA men’s tennis coach Brian Boland to leave program at end of season

UVA men’s tennis head coach Brian Boland announced Wednesday (March 29) he is leaving the Cavaliers’ program effective May 29 to be the head of men’s tennis for USTA Player Development.

Boland, who has twice been named ITA National Coach of the Year (2008 and 2016) and ACC Coach of the Year 10 times, has led Virginia to NCAA titles in three of the last four seasons.

“For the past sixteen years, my family and I have considered it a privilege and a blessing to call Charlottesville our home and the University of Virginia men’s tennis program our life,” Boland said. “From day one, we believed in the University and the University believed in us.  I will forever be indebted to our athletics director, Craig Littlepage, for taking a chance and granting me the opportunity to lead this program in 2001 at the age of 29. I am also appreciative of every administrator, assistant coach, student-athlete, staff member, donor and fan whose unwavering support and commitment allowed our program to be successful. For this, my family and I will always be truly grateful.

“After much consideration and many conversations over a long period of time with my wife Becky, I have decided to resign at the end of this season and accept the role of head of men’s tennis for USTA Player Development at the newly constructed USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida.  I consider this next step in my career to be the absolute highest honor and the ultimate responsibility that can be bestowed upon any tennis coach in the United States.  I plan on doing everything in my power, together with the entire USTA and the private sector, to make sure American men’s tennis regains its position as the global leader on the ATP Tour, in the Davis Cup and in the Olympics.  Lastly, with the recent move of my parents to Florida, where several other of our family members currently reside, this decision gradually developed into the right one for not only my career, but most importantly for my family as well.

“For the remainder of this season, my coaching staff and I will be fully focused and invested in continuing to provide our student-athletes with the best developmental experience in all of intercollegiate tennis.  We will leave no stone unturned when it comes to making sure every single one of our student-athletes is maximizing their potential in the classroom, on the court and as representatives of the University.  This is one of the closest teams I have ever coached and I know we will all continue to work together, learn from each other and enjoy competing in the orange and blue as Virginia Cavaliers.”

Boland has amassed a 436-57 (.884) record in his 16 seasons at Virginia. During his tenure, UVA won 140 consecutive matches against ACC opponents, a streak that spanned a full decade and is the longest winning streak in conference history in any sport.Additionally, Boland has led the Cavaliers to six ITA National Team Indoor Championships, 11 ACC Championships, 13 ACC regular season titles, advanced to the NCAA finals four straight seasons and set the school record for wins in a year. His UVA teams have featured three NCAA singles champions, three NCAA doubles champions, 42 All-Americans, 39 NCAA singles and 17 NCAA doubles participants, 54 All-ACC selections, three ITA National Players of the Year, two ITA National Freshmen of the Year, nine ITA Regional Rookies of the Year, four ACC Freshmen of the Year, 12 ACC Tournament MVPs and three ACC Players of the Year.

“I would like to thank Brian Boland for everything he has done to transform Virginia men’s tennis into one of the nation’s elite programs,” Littlepage said. “I was inspired by Brian’s vision for our program 16 years ago and he has certainly delivered. He is completely committed to providing outstanding experiences for student-athletes and I know he’ll accomplish great things with the USTA. We will certainly miss Brian, Becky and the entire Boland family and wish all of them the best.

“We have a great opportunity ahead of us to attract a terrific coach to build on the foundation Brian has established at Virginia. We will identify the right leader for the program who fully embraces the commitment to developing great players through intercollegiate tennis and succeeding academically at the University.”

A national search for the next head coach will be conducted. Littlepage has not specified a time frame for completing the search given that many of the possible candidates are currently coaching their teams and will be involved in postseason competition. Littlepage will not make further comments regarding the search until the process has reached its conclusion.