Michael Mullan

As accomplished in the classroom as a Professor Emeritus of Sociology as he was leading the Swarthmore men’s tennis team, Michael Mullan retired from coaching after 40 years in 2018. He began coaching the Garnet in 1978 and right away led Swarthmore to seven straight Middle Atlantic Conference titles. The first of his three NCAA Division III team titles came in 1981, followed by the second in ’85 and the third in 1990. Mullan, who earned his first Ph.D., in sociology, from Delaware in 1993 and added a second, in history, from Temple in 2009, had a distinguished playing career. He won two Pennsylvania state championships in high school and then went on to play for Hall of Fame coach Chet Murphy at California. After college, he taught tennis around the world before taking over at Swarthmore. Mullan earned 441 career wins at Swarthmore, reached the NCAA tournament 27 times, and had 39 All-Americans. He was named the NCAA Division III Coach of the Year in 1986 and has been inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.