The newly-renovated Live Oaks Tennis Courts at Southern Arkansas University have open hours each day for the campus and community to enjoy.
The open play schedule includes the following times:
- 7:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Monday – Friday
- 6:30 p.m. – Midnight Monday – Friday
- 7:00 a.m. – Midnight Saturday – Sunday
Times are subject to change, and SAU events take priority in scheduling.
SAU students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in tennis intramurals on Monday and Tuesday evenings at 6 p.m. from October 15 through November 13. Monday nights will be Women’s League and Tuesday will be Men’s League. Sign-up forms are at the Mulerider Activity Center. Open to all levels of players and tennis racquets are also available.
The complex is located adjacent to and behind the W.T. Watson Center and the Aquatic Center. The renovation will be in two phases, with the first completed phase including an eight-court layout, new black vinyl fencing, new netting and sidewalks. Fund-raising efforts are already underway for Phase Two, which will include a tennis locker room and coach’s office facility.
The championship court was named in honor of Oliver M. Clegg, who graduated from Magnolia High School and received his degree from Magnolia A&M (now SAU) in 1938. He learned to play tennis on a grass court at his uncle’s house in Forest, Mississippi, and, for him, tennis became a lifelong passion.
The revived men’s and women’s tennis programs join the 12 other Mulerider Athletic sports programs, which compete in the NCAA Division II Great American Conference. Athletic Director Steve Browning said SAU remains dedicated to elevating the success of Mulerider Athletics, and that tennis will contribute to that goal.
Tennis has a long history at SAU with a combined 15 conference championships and over 100 all-conference players between the men’s and women’s programs. The men’s team sat atop the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) in the 1980s with seven conference titles. The program also captured consecutive District 17 crowns in 1988 and 1989.
The women’s program was a perennial contender in the Arkansas Women’s Intercollegiate Sports Association (AWISA) with a team championship in 1968 and a runner-up finish in 1973. The program earned a singles championship in 1973 and doubles titles in 1969 and 1973. SAU last fielded a women’s tennis program in 2011-12.
