Bears discontinuing women’s tennis program in ‘best interest’ of UCA

CONWAY, Ark. — Central Arkansas will no longer offer women’s tennis as one of its varsity sports programs, it was announced Friday.

Moving forward, UCA will feature 10 NCAA Division I varsity women’s programs and eight varsity men’s teams.

“Decisions like this are incredibly difficult to make, and are not done without considerable thought and review,” said Matt Whiting, UCA director of athletics. “In this ever-changing landscape of college athletics, it is imperative that we constantly review and evaluate our sports portfolio to ensure that we are making the investments needed to position Central Arkansas Athletics for success now and in the future.

“Ultimately, this decision is in the best interest of the University and our athletics department at this time.”

UCA women’s tennis coach Casey Wharton recently stepped down for personal reasons after a long career at the University.

“We have been incredibly fortunate to have had Casey Wharton leading our women’s tennis program since 2014,” said Whiting. “I am deeply grateful for all that he has done for our program and the University of Central Arkansas. I also want to express my appreciation to all who have competed for our program and represented our University and athletics department in such a positive manner.

“We are committed to supporting our current women’s tennis student-athletes and assisting them in every way possible through this transition.”

The 2024-25 tennis roster consisted of eight student-athletes, with no seniors.

Whiting has been in contact with all of the current tennis student-athletes, all of which will receive full releases to transfer to another athletic program, and will be eligible to compete immediately according to NCAA regulations.

If they choose to remain at Central Arkansas, their scholarships will be honored throughout the remainder of their academic careers.

Since 2017, Central Arkansas athletics has added beach volleyball and STUNT, two fast-rising NCAA women’s sports, as varsity programs.

The 18 programs for the Bears and Sugar Bears in 2025-26 will be: indoor volleyball (W); beach volleyball (W); softball (W), golf (M&W); cross country (M&W); football (M); baseball (M); indoor track and field (M&W); outdoor track and field (M&W); basketball (M&W); soccer (M&W) and STUNT (W).

Information from UCA Sports is included in this story.