University of Minnesota Men's Tennis History

The rise in Men’s and Women’s tennis excellence at the University of Minnesota and the origin of the Baseline Club are directly related. A handful of Twin Cities’ area business leaders and tennis fans formed the Club in September 1979 for the purpose of supporting Men’s tennis program at the U of M.

Led by Coach Jerry Noyce, Bob McNamara, Warren Jones, Len Shope, Len Baley, Tom Lowe, Bob Larson and Jerry Gruggen the starting group initiated and shaped the “Baseline Club.” The Club has grown and flourished over the past 30 plus years. It is a booster club dedicated to encouraging fan interest at matches; raising funds for scholarship needs and new facilities. The organization has goals in three areas: competition, sportsmanship and scholarships. Competitive goals include being the best in the Big Ten, being consistently competitive at the highest tier of collegiate tennis and qualifying annually for the NCAA tournament.

The sportsmanship goal is to be a positive influence on tennis at all levels and act as a role model of fair play on the court. Scholarship goals include achieving the best possible results in the classroom as well as on the court and graduating from the University of Minnesota with a quality education.

Thanks in large part to the enthusiasm and support of the Baseline Club Members, the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers tennis schedule are among the finest in Collegiate tennis. The Club created $1,000,000 for the “ Tennis Endowment Fund” and garners continuous interest monies which are used by the U of M in their aid to non-revenue budget.

Additionally, the Club made a large contribution to help with the construction costs of the Baseline Tennis Center Complex. The Club’s fundraising activities have included membership drives, as well as hosting numerous social gatherings during the year. Minnesota has a tradition of excellence in the sport of tennis and much of that is attributed to the Baseline Club. The result of member’s efforts and zeal had made for what is possibly the finest community support of Men’s and Women’s Collegiate Tennis Teams in the nation.