Paul Bennett

Northwestern’s men’s tennis coach for 27 years, beginning in 1931, Paul Bennett led the Wildcats to seven Big Ten championships, including four in a row from 1947-50. Six of his players won conference singles titles and five of his doubles teams also captured titles. Bennett also founded the College Tennis Coaches Association, chaired the NCAA Tennis Committee, and helped move the NCAA championships to college campuses after years of playing the events at private clubs. A talented athlete, Bennett played tennis and basketball at the University of Chicago and was the runner-up for the Big Ten singles title as a senior in 1915. He won the Canadian singles championship in 1920 and played on the Canadian Davis Cup team in 1921. Bennett died in 1959 at age 67.