FREDERICK, Md. – Director of Athletics Susan Kolb, Ph.D., announced Tuesday that the men's and women's tennis programs will be discontinued following the spring 2025 season.

"Since I arrived in 2018, we have added a graduate assistant, increased the part-time head coach to a full-time position and increased the budget to accommodate a full schedule," Kolb said.  "Despite our best efforts, we have not met NCAA sport sponsorship with tennis for a third consecutive year." 

Kolb joined the Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) for women's tennis in 2022 to bolster the Hood tennis identity in the region and bring the tennis experience back to campus.

Before fall 2024, the NCAA required six members each on the men's and women's tennis teams to compete in 10 contests throughout the year to meet sport sponsorship. This year, the NCAA passed legislation to decrease the number of participants to meet sponsorship from six to four. The cushion that this legislation provided was still not enough to keep the Hood tennis teams compliant with sponsorship.

Limited applicants for a full-time head coach have made recruiting and retention challenging. Administration had reached out to local tennis professionals, alumni and high school coaches for leads on the next coach. "However, after several interviews and attempts to grow the candidate pool, the search failed in fall 2024," Kolb said.

In the Middle Atlantic Conference, 13 of 16 institutions offer men's and women's tennis. After this academic year, that number will drop to 12. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) is the governing body of college tennis for NCAA Divisions I-III, NAIA and junior/community colleges. In a January 2021 podcast conducted by The Business of College Sports, ITA CEO Tim Russell shared that more than 45 Division I tennis programs were cut between March 2020 and January 2021. 

"We recognize that this decision will have an impact on current members of both teams, their families and the Hood community," Kolb said.  "We welcome our tennis athletes to explore other athletic and club interests at Hood.  We will also support them and connect them to local facilities if they wish to continue playing tennis in the Frederick area." 

Hood College student-athletes and their families were informed by President Debbie Ricker, Associate Director of Athletics Jack Mehl and Kolb prior to this announcement's release.