What’s the Future of College Tennis ft. David Mullins

Summary

David Mullins, the new CEO of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) as of January 1, 2025, provides a comprehensive update on the state of college tennis amid unprecedented uncertainty in college athletics. The conversation covers the House settlement with the NCAA, its potential impact on roster caps, scholarships, and the international-vs-domestic player balance; ITA’s advocacy efforts including an open letter to the settlement judge and hiring a lobbyist with 8 other Olympic sports; USTA’s expanding investment in college tennis (10-year Division I championship hosting, facility grants scaled from $1.5M to $10M); and the perennial need to educate families about the value of all divisions of college tennis, not just Division I.

Guest Background

David Mullins is a former college tennis player and coach who served 5 years as ITA Chief Operating Officer before being named CEO. He went through a formal interview process and took over from Tim Russell, who retired December 31, 2024. The ITA is a small not-for-profit with 13 staff members that manages college tennis rulemaking (one of only ~2 sports where the coaches association makes rules that NCAA adopts), rankings used for NCAA selections, and halls of fame. Mullins is married to a former Fresno State women’s tennis player he met while playing on the men’s team there. This is his third or fourth appearance on ParentingAces.

Key Topics

• House settlement uncertainty: Objections filed; some believe it won’t settle in April as planned. Even if it does, more lawsuits expected (Title IX, payment structure with 75% to football / 15% to men’s basketball). Universities already planning for $22M annual payouts. ITA filed an open letter to the judge (not a formal objection) after other Olympic sports backed out of joint action.
• Roster caps impact: Division I moving to roster cap of 10. Women’s side may go from 8 full scholarships to 10 (potentially more scholarships). Men’s side may lose scholarships (from 4.5) as ADs redirect to revenue sports. No roster caps at other divisions.
• International player implications: D-I is ~60% international; D-III is ~90% American. If D-I scholarships decrease, international players (who rely on scholarship funding) may leave D-I, potentially making it look more like D-III demographically. Could benefit American players.
• Federal legislation push: ITA hired lobbyist with 8 other Olympic sports to advocate for federal legislation preventing student-athletes from becoming employees. Senator Ted Cruz identified as key champion. Patchwork NIL legislation and third-party collectives creating unsustainable dynamics.
• USTA investment surge: 10-year permanent host for Division I championships with major investment. Facility grants expanded from $1.5M to $10M, targeting collegiate facilities for court resurfacing, lighting, ELC, complete rebuilds. USTA ran webinars with 1,100 parents each — highest attendance ever.
• Division education: Persistent problem of families fixating on D-I. Mullins notes the naming (Division 1, 2, 3) implies hierarchy. Academies have shifted from “we’ll make your kid a top-10 pro” to “we’ll get them to D-I” — next shift should be just “college tennis.” D-III provides arguably equivalent or better life outcomes.
• ITA strategic planning: Building strategy for July 1, 2025 onward. Gathering input via surveys to coaches, stakeholders, board. Key questions: Should ITA focus on potential super-league at top of D-I, or on mid-majors and other divisions? What role if Power Four conferences break away?
• Professional relationships: ATP more engaged with college tennis than WTA despite women’s college-to-pro success stories (Schneider, Navarro, Stearns). ITA has strong relationships with ATP, ITF, USTA. David Benjamin (Tim Russell’s predecessor) may write a book on ITA history.

Actionable Advice for Families

• Don’t let settlement uncertainty distract your child from working hard and getting better — focus on what you can control.
• Start the recruiting process early, build a wide funnel of target schools across all divisions, and winnow down over time.
• Open your mind to all divisions: D-II, D-III, NAIA, JUCO all offer meaningful college tennis experiences. The relationships and life lessons are the same regardless of division.
• Being good enough to be recruited at any level makes your child an elite player — a very small percentage of junior players reach that threshold.
• Attend college tennis matches in person (January through May, all divisions, nationwide). The live product is significantly better than streaming.
• Reach out directly to college coaches; showcase personality, character, and what you can add to a team — not just tennis results.

INTENNSE Relevance

• Governance intelligence: The ITA’s strategic posture — small organization (13 staff), building 1-year strategy amid multi-year uncertainty, considering whether to serve the D-I super-league or focus on broader college tennis ecosystem — is a critical governance data point for INTENNSE’s coverage of tennis’s institutional landscape.
• Revenue sport dynamics: The House settlement’s allocation (75% football, 15% men’s basketball) threatens non-revenue sports funding. This is the defining structural tension in college athletics and will reshape tennis’s place within it.
• USTA facility investment: The 6.7x increase in facility grants ($1.5M to $10M) targeting college facilities with ELC, lighting, and resurfacing is a major capital deployment signal. Combined with the 10-year D-I championship hosting commitment, USTA is becoming the financial backstop for college tennis infrastructure.
• International player market shift: If D-I scholarship reductions push international players out, this reshapes the global tennis development pipeline. Players who would have gone D-I in the US may stay in European or Asian development pathways instead.
• College tennis as content product: Mullins’s comments about streaming not doing the product justice and the ADHD-friendly multi-court live experience suggest opportunities for better production and broadcast innovation in college tennis.

Notable Quotes

“I think people have this idea that being a professional athlete is the greatest thing in the world. It’s not. It’s a very tough lifestyle and it’s not for everybody.”

“We were considering, should we file an objection to the House settlement? We landed on that we wouldn’t file an objection, but we sent an open letter to the judge… The other sports weren’t willing to jump on board with us. They got a little scared at the last minute.”

“Do you realize that just being in the recruiting process itself makes your kid an elite player in this sport? There’s such a small percentage of the whole junior tennis ecosystem that gets to that level.”