NAMED
SCHOLARSHIPS
Honoring tennis legacies.
Tennis is more than a sport, it's a community. The USTA Texas Tennis Foundation is proud to honor the legacies of individuals who have made a lasting impact on tennis in Texas. Each of these figures has made an impact on the lives of countless young Texans and through these memorial scholarships, their impact continues.
​
DR. MURRAY
COULTER
MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
A Legacy That Shaped Texas Tennis
​
Dr. Murray Coulter lived a life defined by service, curiosity, and an enduring passion for tennis. After earning advanced degrees culminating in a PhD from UCLA, he spent his professional career at Texas Tech University, ultimately serving as professor, interim department chair, and later Professor Emeritus.
While Dr. Coulter’s academic path was distinguished, tennis became one of the great throughlines of his life. A dedicated athlete well into his later years, he rose to become a state-ranked Texas tennis player. Equally impactful was his leadership off the court. Dr. Coulter served as President of the South Plains Tennis Foundation, President of USTA Texas (1997–1999), a member of the USTA Executive Committee, and a long-time member and Lifetime Board Member of the USTA Texas Management Committee. His decades of volunteerism earned him the USTA Texas W.T. Caswell Service Award and the Houston Boyd Award two times.
The Dr. Murray Coulter Memorial Scholarship celebrates a legacy defined by humility, leadership, and a belief in the transformative power of tennis. It honors a man who strengthened the sport across Texas, shaped pathways still in place today, and quietly mentored countless volunteers, athletes, and leaders. It is a tribute not only to what Dr. Coulter accomplished, but to how he lived—with purpose, generosity, and an unwavering commitment to helping others thrive.
​
Honoring His Enduring Impact
​
The USTA Texas Tennis Foundation is honored to carry Dr. Murray Coulter’s legacy forward. Through this scholarship and our broader work, we continue to invest in the future of Texas tennis, ensuring that opportunity, inclusion, and community remain at the heart of everything we do.
Just as Dr. Coulter believed, the best way to grow tennis is simple: invest in people, lift up communities, and keep the doors to the sport open for all.
About this award:
Scholarship support provides students an opportunity to obtain a college education without incurring some of the financial hardships that can come with earning a degree. Merit and needs-based.
Contribute:
Help Support the Dr. Murray Coulter Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Ron has lived in Corpus Christi, Texas for 75 years. He learned to play tennis at Wynne Seale Middle School and grew up playing tennis at South Bluff Park (Now Al Kruse Tennis Center). Ron was a top ranked junior player in Texas and was a member of the USTA Texas Junior Davis Cup Team. He attended Ray, Cuero & Carroll High Schools, played varsity tennis at the University of Houston on a tennis scholarship. After college he went to work for Bob Mapes at the HEB Tennis Center for four years. Ron left HEB Tennis Center to direct the tennis program at the Corpus Christi Country Club. He was there for 31 years. overseeing the facility and along with his wife Loyce ran a very busy tennis and aquatics program as well as one of the best retail tennis pro shops in Texas.
Ron is a USPTA Master Professional and is one of the charter members of the Texas Professional Tennis Association (Now the USPTA Texas Division) established in 1969. He also served as Executive Director for the USPTA Texas Division for six years from 2001 – 2007; President of the National United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) from 2005 - 2007; President of the USPTA Texas Division; President of the Corpus Christi Tennis Association; President of the South Texas Pro Association; 6 year member of the CC Parks & Recreation Advisory Board; current member of Parks – Arts – Leisure – Seniors (P.A.L.S.) Board; 1982 & 1983 TAPPS Tennis Coach of the Year; Two year recipient of the USPTA National “Tennis Across America” award; 2010 USPTA National Pro of the Year; president of the Corpus Christi Tennis Association; ran the league program for 15 years in Corpus Christi; inaugurated
the “Little State” Tournament; Past Chairman of the USTA Texas Adult League Committee and Adult Competition Committee; served on the USTA Texas Management Committee and Executive Committee; served on the National USTA League Committee, Davis Cup/ Olympic Committee, CTA and Innovative Committees. And in 2018 he was awarded the National USPTA George Basco “Lifetime Achievement Award”. Ron is also a 2011 inductee into the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame. Ron currently serves on the board of Tennis Success, Inc. a USTA NJTL Chapter. This organization serves under resourced youth & families in the community by offering tennis, education and healthy living habits. He has served on this board for over 8 years and president for 4 of those years. He also served as interim Executive Director for 1 year. Ron serves on this organization to give back to the game that has given so much to him.
​
Ron lives by this credo:
"Unless a man undertakes more than he possibly can do, he will never do all that he can."
~ Henry Drummond
​
These words are inscribed on a plaque by 3 state of the art courts at the HEB Tennis Center that Ron helped get on a bond issue and constructed along with a raised seating area at the HEB Tennis Center and court upgrades at the Al Kruse Tennis Center through a 3 million dollar bond issue by the City of Corpus Christi.
​
The Ron Woods Scholarships are made possible thanks to a recent generous donor advised grant from the Coastal Bend Community Foundation.
RON
WOODS
SCHOLARSHIP
About this award:
Scholarship support provides students an opportunity to obtain a college education without incurring some of the financial hardships that can come with earning a degree. Merit and needs-based.
​