Bob Bayliss (2002) - Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame - University of Richmond Athletics

Bob Bayliss

Induction:
2002
Class:
1966

Bob Bayliss is widely recognized as one of the top collegiate tennis coaches of all tme. While at Richmond as a student-athlete, Bayliss played No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles as a senior, when he was team captain. He also played basketball as a freshman. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1966 and his master's degree in 1971.

His coaching career began with a 15-year stint at the U.S. Naval Academy (1970-84), where he was the only Navy tennis coach to never lose to Army. He followed his time in Annapolis with three years at M.I.T. (1985-87), and then 26 years at Notre Dame (1988-2014). Bayliss finished his career fifth on the all-time career wins list for Division I men’s tennis with a record of 765-339-1 (.692). He was one of three NCAA Division I coaches with more than 700 career wins. Bayliss earned 1992 National Coach-of-the-Year after guiding Notre Dame to a berth in the National Championship. He has also earned 14 Conference Coach-of-the-Year honors. In the summer of 1991, Bayliss led the United States to a gold medal at the World University Games in Sheffield, England. One of his most distinguished honors came in 1995 when he was given the Meritorious Service Award for his extraordinary contributions to collegiate tennis and his service to the collegiate tennis community.

In 26 years at Notre Dame, Bayliss led lead the Irish to 22 NCAA Championship berths in his last 23 seasons, and guided his teams to 10 top-20 finishes in that time. Bayliss’ squads advanced to the round-of-16 in the NCAA tournament on seven occasions, including a quarterfinal appearance in 1993 and a trip to the NCAA title match in 1992. He coached 10 student-athletes to 19 All-American distinctions. His team earned its first-ever national ranking in 1990. Bayliss served on the ITA executive board and was one of seven members of both the ITA executive and budget committee and collegiate Hall of Fame committees. He was the co-chairperson of the ITA ethics and infractions committee and an assistant chair of the men's NCAA Division I operating committee.