Dave Porter named new BYU director of tennis, head coach of men’s tennis program

PROVO, Utah – BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe announced Wednesday the hiring of Dave Porter as the new director of tennis and head coach of the men’s tennis program.

Porter comes to Provo after a 33-year career at BYU-Hawaii, where he led the Seasiders tennis teams to 11 NCAA Division II or NAIA national championships (nine women’s and two men’s). During that time, Porter had a combined record of 1,410-188 for a .882 winning percentage. He is the winningest coach in collegiate tennis history.

“We are very pleased to announce Dave as our new men’s tennis coach,” Holmoe said in a news release. “He is passionate about tennis, a great recruiter with many international contacts and a world-class coach. We are excited to have a coach with his superb collegiate tennis acumen and experience in the BYU system leading our tennis program.”

Porter started at BYU-Hawaii in Laie as an assistant basketball coach from 1982-84 and also helped coach the Seasiders women’s volleyball team for a season. He started the BYU-Hawaii men’s tennis program in 1984 and later took over the women’s program in 1992.

Porter continued to coach both teams until the university discontinued its athletic program in 2017.

“I am thrilled to be given the opportunity of working with and developing the young men and women who are attracted to the culture and climate of BYU,” Porter said. “I appreciate the confidence that Tom Holmoe and Brian Santiago are putting in me as the director of tennis and I will do my best to justify that confidence. There is a solid group of young men currently in the BYU program and I am excited to begin working with them on and off the court. Holly Hasler was a world class player and is an even better coach. It will be a pleasure to work with her.”

Porter, a native of Provo, attended BYU in the 1970s and competed in both basketball and tennis while earning a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education. He later earned a Master of Science degree from BYU in exercise physiology and later completed a Doctoral degree from the University of Hawaii in curriculum and instruction in physical education after accepting a position at BYU-Hawaii in 1982.