Sam Paul, the winningest active men’s tennis coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference, has agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension to remain the University of North Carolina’s head coach through the 2026 season.
“Our men’s tennis program is first-class both on and off the court and has achieved some of its greatest successes with two indoor national titles and two NCAA final fours in recent years under the leadership of Coach Sam Paul,” UNC Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham said. “Sam’s love and dedication to Carolina are unquestioned. He has a tremendous track record of mentoring strong tennis players who also excel in the classroom and are active parts of the UNC community, and we are happy to extend his contract and keep him at Carolina.”
Entering his 31st season as Carolina’s head coach in 2023-24, Paul was inducted into the North Carolina Tennis Foundation’s Hall of Fame in September of 2022. With a career record of 560-231, Paul is the winningest coach in program history and has more wins than any other active coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He has led the Tar Heels to 27 NCAA Championship berths, nine consecutive trips to the NCAA Round of 16, two NCAA final fours and two ITA Indoor National Team titles.
He won Wilson/ITA National Coach of the Year honors in 2017 after leading Carolina to the national championship match for the first time. Paul is also a six-time ACC Coach of the Year, most recently in 2014.
Paul has led UNC to rare air in recent years, with the team’s first indoor national championship and first No. 1 ranking coming in 2016, the program’s first NCAA final appearance in 2017, another NCAA semifinal berth in 2019 and a second indoor national title in 2021.
“Thank you very much to Bubba Cunningham, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and the Board of Trustees for this new contract,” Paul said. “I’m so excited for our program and its growth in the brand new Chewning Tennis Center, which is one of the top facilities in the nation. I’d also like to thank my associate head coach, Tripp Phillips, for all his years of hard work and loyalty.”
As UNC’s head coach, Paul has…
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