TTU Men’s Tennis Becomes Affiliate Member Of Horizon League

Tennessee Tech has partnered with the Horizon League to ensure its men’s tennis team gets a chance to compete in the NCAA tournament.

Usually, conference champions get an automatic bid to participate at the national level. Athletic Director Mark Wilson said the Ohio Valley Conference has fallen below the team pre-requisite in men’s tennis.

“If they win the Ohio Valley Conference, they want something beyond and above that to showcase their talents, their abilities to showcase Tennessee Tech and be a bright spot for Tennessee Tech by competing in the NCAAs,” Wilson said.

Wilson said by joining as an affiliate member, Tech can still receive an automatic bid to the championship as a conference winner. Wilson said this is a temporary measure while new members in the OVC seek its division-1 classification.

“Two non-division one teams Lindenwood and Southern Indiana to the Ohio Valley Conference, once they become fully fledged division one members then if our numbers are where they expect them to be then those partnerships can no longer exist,” Wilson said.

The Horizon League is a NCAA Division I conference comprised of 11 members located throughout the Great Lakes region.