BIDDEFORD, Maine -- University of New England Director of Athletics Heather Davis announced on Friday (Aug. 2) the hiring of Jovan Jordan-Whitter as the head coach of the future men's tennis and women's tennis teams, which will begin varsity competition in the 2025-26 academic year.

"After a comprehensive national search, we are so pleased to have selected Jovan as the head coach to launch our varsity men's and women's tennis programs," said Davis. "Jovan's track record as a successful collegiate coach, as well as his experience leading multiple Bermuda national teams, position him to guide our programs through their development and beyond. During the interview process, Jovan exhibited strong technical knowledge, a charismatic communication style, and an impressive passion to develop student-athletes to reach their potential, both on and off the court."

Jordan-Whitter was most recently at the University of Massachusetts-Boston for two and a half years (2021-23). The first 15 months were spent as the assistant to both teams, during which the men captured the Little East Conference (LEC) title in Spring 2022 and the women followed by claiming the league crown in Fall 2022. Jordan-Whitter then stepped in as interim head coach of the programs in late 2022, leading the men into the Spring 2023 conference portion of the season and the women into the NCAA tournament. Come the Fall of 2023, he led the Beacons women to an 11-2 overall mark, a perfect 8-0 LEC regular season, and another victory in the league championship match. Jordan-Whitter was named as the 2023 LEC Coach of the Year for his efforts.

He also comes with nearly five years (2017-22) of experience as head coach of the Bermuda National Teams, first with the men (2017) and then the women (2018-22).

As a player, Jordan-Whitter was part of the Bermuda Davis Cup Team for the competitions in 2001-04 and then again in 2017. He landed a scholarship to attend NCAA Division I Temple University in 2003, and later played for UMass Boston in 2008, earning the LEC Player of the Year distinction.

This summer, he completed a bachelor's degree in liberal arts at UMass Boston. 

"Thank you to Heather Davis and the search committee for trusting me to lead the tennis programs," shared Jordan-Whitter. "I am thrilled to join UNE, where there is a palpable energy within the athletics department. Building a program from the ground up has been a lifelong dream of mine. Having the opportunity to grow and compete for a university that has a clear vision of what competitive success looks like, not only within the conference but also nationally, is a perfect fit. I look forward to getting started, and I am beyond excited to see what our partnership can provide."

Jordan-Whitter will start to build rosters over the next year to prepare for 2025-26, while renovations continue to be made to the campus facility (see the April 2024 announcement). The newly-renamed Conference of New England (CNE) administers tennis championships that are split within the academic calendar -- like the LEC -- with women in the fall season and men in the spring season. Both squads will begin competing in September of 2025, and the NCAA Division III Championships for both genders occur in May of the academic year.