MINOR HERNDON MICKEL TENNIS CENTER
Furman Tennis, which over the years has brought great distinction to the university with numerous championships, boasts as its home one of the region's top tennis facilities, the Minor Herndon Mickel Tennis Center.
The central building of the tennis center, which encloses approximately 41,000 square feet, features four indoor courts and a clubhouse with offices for men's and women's coaches, locker rooms for home and visiting teams, lobby, lounge, and viewing area for the indoor courts. The center also includes an outside stadium court with seating for 400 people and 12 additional outdoor courts, seven of which are lighted. The stadium court is named in honor of Paul Scarpa, the nation's winningest NCAA Division I coach who has served as head coach of Furman's men's program for the past 44 years.
"This is a first-class tennis facility, one of the finest in the United States," says Scarpa, a member of both Furman and Southern Tennis Halls-of-Fame. "It is extremely functional and the clubhouse is the centerpiece for both the outdoor and indoor courts. When opponents come in here, they see Furman's true commitment to tennis through this facility."
Construction of the $2 million complex, which began in December of 1994, was completed in February of 1996. Since its opening, Mickel Tennis Center has been the site of three Southern Conference Tournaments. Over the years Furman's men's program has captured 20 league regular season and tournament titles and made four NCAA Tournament appearances.
Furman's Lady Paladins, under the direction of head coach Debbie Southern, have combined to claim 29 conference regular season and league tournament championships, and make nine NCAA Tournament appearances.
The complex is named in honor of the late Minor Mickel, a long-time supporter of the university and the first woman to serve as chair of the Furman Board of Trustees. An original gift of $600,000 was made in the summer of 1993 by Mrs. Mickel's family.
In 2008 Mickel Tennis Center received a boost with the construction of two electronic scoreboards to display match results for each of the 12 outdoor varsity courts.
