Greg Patton - Bronco Athletic Association Coach - Boise State University Athletics

Greg Patton

Title:
Assistant Director, Development
Email:
gpatton@boisestate.edu
Phone:
208-484-2432

Two-Time NCAA/ITA National Coach of the Year
Five-Time ITA Region Coach of the Year
15-Time Conference Coach of the Year
21 NCAA Team Appearances
24 Conference Tournament Championships
113 All-Conference Honors (at Boise State)

BOISE STATE TENURE (1992-98 and 2003-present)

Boise State men’s tennis has become a familiar player on the national collegiate tennis scene thanks in large part to head coach Greg Patton, who is in his 22nd season overall at the helm of the program and 16th since he returned in 2003 after a short four year break to work with USA Tennis. During Patton’s tenure he has led Boise State to 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, 14 conference tournament titles in four different leagues and an overall record of 448-199.

Patton has put together an impressive 799-392 career record over 37 years as a collegiate head coach, which currently ranks him first nationally for most wins by an active NCAA Division I men’s tennis coach and fourth all-time.

Since returning to Boise State in 2003, Patton has guided the team to four-consecutive Mountain West Tournament Championships (2012-15) during its first four seasons in the conference. He also earned Western Athletic Conference titles in four of nine seasons (2003, 2005-07), as well as a WAC regular-season championship in 2009.

During Patton’s 21-year tenure with the Broncos he has coached five players to All-America status, including Luke Shields twice in singles (2005 and 2007) and once in doubles (2005), Thomas Schoeck in doubles (2005) with Shields, Guillame Bouvier in singles (2004), as well as the doubles team of Ernesto Diaz and Albin Polonyi (1996). In addition, he has coached six conference players of the year: Ernesto Diaz (Big Sky 1996 and Big West 1997), Luke Shields (WAC 2007), Clancy Shields (WAC 2009), James Meredith (WAC 2010) and Andy Bettles (MW 2013). He has also coached five conference freshman of the year, while 44 of his players have combined for 113 all-conference honors (81 first team and 32 second team).

While successfully leading the Bronco program, Patton has captured many individual honors including being inducted into four different hall of fames: UC Irvine Athletic Hall of Fame (2000), Boise State University Athletic Hall of Fame (2001), Idaho Tennis Association Hall of Fame (2013) and USTA Intermountain Region Hall of Fame (2015). He has been named the NCAA National Coach of the Year (1997), USPTA College Tennis Coach of the Year (2013), Intercollegiate Tennis Association Region Coach of the Year five times (1994, 1997, 2004, 2012, 2014) and a conference coach of the year 10 times spanning four leagues: Mountain West (2012), Western Athletic Conference (2005-07 and 2009), Big West (1997) and Big Sky (1993-96). In addition he has received the USTA Intermountain Tennis Association Lifetime Achievement Award (2013), Keys to the City of Boise (2013) and the USTA/NCAA National Community Service Award twice (1997 and 2003).

Patton is credited with turning Boise State into a national tennis power since his arrival in 1993. In his first season at the reigns of the Broncos, Patton led the team to its first conference championship since 1974. His success did not stop there as Boise State won the Big Sky four consecutive seasons (1993-96) and the Big West Championship its first year in the league (1997). During the 1997 season Boise State was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation and went to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships, finishing fifth in the process.

OTHER COACHING EXPERIENCE

Patton has been the U.S. Collegiate Masters’U Team co-coach for eight years (2009-16) where he has helped guide the team to seven world championships in 2009 and 2011-16, as well as one runner-up finish in 2010.

Following the 1998 season at Boise State, Patton accepted a position as a coach with the U.S. Junior National team program. Patton coached at the junior level from 1998-2003 leading the National Boys’ 14s to the 2003 World Cup Championship, defeating teams from Argentina and Spain in the process.

Patton also coached the junior national team from 1984-87 leading many junior players to top five world rankings. At the junior level, Patton helped groom some of the finest tennis players America has had to offer including Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Michael Chang, David Wheaton, and Malavai Washington.

Prior to becoming the head coach of Boise State in 1993, Patton coached at UC Irvine from 1979-92. During his tenure he led the Anteaters to nine Big West championships (1981, 1983-85, 1987-90, 1992) and multiple top 25 finishes in the final national rankings. He was named NCAA Coach of the Year in 1987 and was a five-time Big West Coach of the Year.

His first job as a coach was with his alma mater UC Santa Barbara from 1976-78 before spending time at CSU Bakersfield (1978-79) and then moving onto UC Irvine.

PERSONAL

Patton played his collegiate tennis at UC Santa Barbara from 1972-74. Patton and his wife Christa have a daughter, Chelsea, and a son, Garrett. Chelsea played tennis at Eastern Washington University from 2010-13. Garrett played four years for Greg at Boise State 2011-15 where he was an all-conference player, he is currently the associate head coach at Cal Poly.