The Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year award honors a coach who has exhibited outstanding leadership in ways that contribute to on and off-court team performance.
In six seasons at the helm of Texas Women’s Tennis, head coach Howard Joffe has returned the Longhorns to their spot among the nation’s elite programs. Texas has finished each of the last three years in the Top 10 of the final Oracle/ITA national polls, earning a No. 6 ranking in 2018, a No. 9 ranking in 2019, a No. 4 ranking in 2020, and a No. 1 ranking in 2021. Under Joffe’s leadership, the Longhorns won back-to-back outright Big 12 Conference regular-season championships in 2018 and 2019. This marked UT’s first back-to-back-to-back outright Big 12 regular-season titles since the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Their Big 12 championship was the 11th in program history!
In his five years in Austin, Joffe has posted an 84-31 (.730) dual-match record. He has helped a trio of Longhorns earn a total of four ITA All-America honors in singles (Breaunna Addison in 2016, Bianca Turati in 2018, Anna Turati, and Bianca Turati in 2020), while seven of his UT players have registered a combined 11 All-Big 12 singles and eight All-Big 12 doubles selections.
During his first 14 seasons as a collegiate head coach, he has registered a 246-93 (.726) dual-match mark. Joffe earned his 200th career collegiate victory during UT’s 4-3 win at Iowa State on April 12, 2019.
Joffe played professional tennis from 1992-95 and ranked among the world’s top-450 in singles and doubles. He relocated to South Africa in 1995 and helped establish the Joffe-Wheeler Tennis Academy in Johannesburg. Joffe served as the head tennis coach at Rand Afrikaanse University in 1997 and coached the Gauteng Central Junior Tennis Team in 1998 before returning to the United States in 1999
A letter from University of Texas Vice President & Athletics Director, Chris Del Conte
Coach Howard Joffe,
It gives me great pleasure to congratulate you on being named the 2020-21 ITA Division I Women’s National Coach of the Year. My man, this was an absolute no-brainer! When you lead your team to a 31-1 record AND win the NCAA Championship, you’re simply the best.
Your team’s run to the NCAA title provided unbelievable thrills for Longhorn Nation. But for me, it’s all about the job you did in quickly bringing this talented group of individuals together to play for that beautiful Longhorn logo on the front of your jersey. Despite having five freshmen in your seven-player rotation, you were absolutely masterful at creating such a positive team-first family unit. This was a true TEAM.
Not only are all 11 of your student-athletes exceptional tennis players, they are even better young women off the courts. Watching the pride, passion and Texas Fight that they brought in every match this season was simply inspirational.
Howard, you said before the spring season that if we could provide a safe way to host matches and travel that we might have something special in your locker room. Well, that proved to be an understatement, my friend!
Congratulations to the ITA National Coach of the Year. Job well done!
Hook ‘em!