Early in August, the normally staid New York Times exploded one morning in a burst of fiery words to headline a national college sports story:
“Chaotic…ill-fated…final days…ruins…hell…”
The Washington Post called it an “implosion.”
It was the looming demise of the Pac 12 conference, raising questions of where San Diego State was headed.
Asked how college tennis would be affected, coaches scratched their heads.
“It changes hourly,” said one coach, confirming that the departure of USC and UCLA joined by Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah, signaled a dizzying scramble of college sports.
Almost gleefully, it seemed, sportswriters took turns describing what they thought could happen. One frequent option (or fantasy) was the creation of a single giant nationwide conference of the top 26 college football teams. Sometimes basketball was dragged along.
What took a back seat were the sports that make no money. College Tennis? Travel, racquets, shoes, uniforms, equipment, scholarships, facility?
There’s nothing new about this. In 2001, ATR asked a leading sports columnist what he thought.
“You can’t lump together golf, tennis, swimming, track, soccer, and baseball, and lower level football and basketball, with participants in big-time football and basketball,” he wrote. “The requirements, burden and benefits of big-timers are inherently different from the rest. They are professional (under paid) entertainers chosen to maximize ticket and other revenue.”
In spite of this year’s turmoil, Aztec tennis is showing great skill at mastering the confusion.
The 2024 men’s and women’s spring seasons are shaping up as a masterful mix of longtime foes from across the country and Mountain West conference, as well as occasional newcomers from as high as the top ten in the country. Not surprising, perhaps, for a sport in its 102nd year at San Diego State.
— Editor’s Note