BCU Athletics Will Not Retain Services of Tim Pleasant

TIM PLEASANT

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- The contract of Bethune-Cookman Men’s and Women’s Tennis Head Coach Tim Pleasant will not be renewed past the current 2015-16 athletic year, it was announced Friday, May 20, by Lynn W. Thompson, B-CU Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics. The current contract for Pleasant expires at the end of June.

“We would like to thank Tim [Pleasant] for all he has contributed to the success of our men’s and women’s programs at Bethune-Cookman University,” stated Thompson. “However, we felt that new vision and leadership is what is required now to elevate our program to its highest level.”

In five years at the helm in Daytona Beach, Pleasant – the 2014-15 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, helped the Wildcats women’s tennis team to back-to-back first place finishes in the league’s Southern Division in 2015 and 2016, respectfully. In 2015, B-CU amassed an overall record of 22-7, and won the first MEAC Tournament title in more than a decade, advancing the Cats to the NCAA Regionals in Gainesville, Florida.

Women’s Tennis fell to South Carolina State in the 2016 MEAC title match in April. The team finished the year with a 12-13 overall mark. On the men’s side, Bethune-Cookman claimed the 2016 top seed from the Southern Division in the MEAC Championships, but eventually fell in the semifinals to South Carolina State.

“As we continue to build a comprehensive athletics program which develops the total student-athlete experience, we must be creative and bold in our process, continued Thompson. “The ground work laid by Pleasant is one the next staff will truly be able to follow, and further enhance what we have going for us in Daytona Beach.”

The search for a new coach will begin immediately, led by a committee consisting of Bethune-Cookman Department of Athletics senior staff members.

For more information, please contact Bryan J. Harvey in the B-CU Office of Athletic Communications.

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COURTESY BETHUNE-COOKMAN COLLEGE ATHLETICS SPORTS INFORMATION