Southwest Baptist University Athletics

After more than 50 years as tennis coach at SBU, Bryant was one of the most recognized college coaches in the sport of tennis ... Was also an associate professor of mathematics for half a century … Born and raised in Peabody, Mass., graduating from Peabody High School in 1958 ... Graduated from SWBC in 1961 and earned both his bachelors and masters in math education from Mississippi College in 1963 and 1966 ... Later earned a master of arts in math from Illinois in 1970 ... Hired by SWBC as a mathematics teacher and men’s tennis coach in 1966 ... Served as the SBU director of athletics from 1989 to 1995.

From 1967-86, SBU tennis won 18 NAIA District 16 titles, played in 19 consecutive NAIA national tournaments and won the 1984 co-national championship … Was named NAIA District 16 Coach of the Year 18 times … In 1983, named the NAIA National Coach of the Year, with Alvaro Jordan winning SBU’s first national singles championship … When SBU became a NCAA Division II member in 1990, Bryant once again garnered the National Coach of the Year honor … Bearcats played in the NAIA or NCAA national tournaments 48 times during his tenure … Bryant had 43 players named All-American.

Was named the Orien B. Hendrex Distinguished Teacher in 1974 and given the Governor’s Award for Excellence in 1996 … Inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1987 and Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2010 ... The SBU tennis courts were named in his honor in 2001 ... Amassed an astounding career mark of nearly 1000 combined match wins as Bearcat head coach, with his teams winning close to 50 NAIA District or MIAA championships ... He and his wife Judy have been married for nearly 60 years and remain faithful SBU fans and assets to the tennis program and to the university ... Their daughter, Jana Horner, and husband Doug are both radiologists at CMH with two children.