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Hainline to receive achievement award

September 7, 2016

TEMPE, Ariz.— Brian Hainline, M.D., alumnus of the University of Notre Dame Class of 1978 and the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, will receive the highest honor bestowed by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association when he is presented with the 2016 ITA David A Benjamin Achievement Award on Saturday, September 10, 2016, at the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Board of Governors Meeting at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York. The ceremony will be hosted by the ITHF and presented by Rolex Watch, U.S.A.

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Stan Smith, President of the ITHF, will present the award along with David A Benjamin, retired ITA Chairman of the Board, Timothy Russell, ITA Chief Executive Officer, and Mounia Mechbal, Vice President of Communications, Rolex Watch U.S.A., who will present a distinctive, personally engraved, Rolex timepiece to Hainline. In addition to this special gift, Hainline and a guest will be invited to watch a session of the 2016 US Open from the President’s Box, courtesy of the USTA, and will also be recognized during the ITHF’s Legends Ball on Friday evening.

“The selection of Brian Hainline as the 2016 recipient of the ITA David A Benjamin Achievement Award laureate speaks not only to Brian’s extraordinary career in the field of medicine, but also to the larger vision that the ITA serves college tennis and returns the leaders of tomorrow,” said Russell. “We are honored to recognize Brian for all of his efforts, and hope that his story is one that will inspire current and future generations.”

Now in its 23rd year, the ITA David A Benjamin Achievement Award pays tribute each year to past participants in the world of varsity tennis who have achieved excellence in their cho­sen careers. The spirit of the award honors both professional success and contributions to society, made either as a direct result of a career, or through humanitarian efforts. In 2015, Margie and Stan Smith endowed the ITA Achievement Award in honor of Benjamin.

“On behalf of the ITA, we are proud to partner with the International Tennis Hall of Fame and Rolex Watch U.S.A. to recognize Brian Hainline as the 2016 ITA David A Benjamin Achievement Award laureate,” said Benjamin. “And we would also like to thank once again Margie and Stan Smith, for their generous endowment donation for this most special award.”

Brian Hainline, M.D. is the NCAA’s first Chief Medical Officer. He holds academic appointments as clinical professor of neurology at both New York University School of Medicine and Indiana University School of Medicine, and was formerly a practicing physician as Chief of Neurology and Integrative Pain Medicine at ProHEALTH Care Associates in Lake Success, N.Y. and the Chief Medical Officer for the USTA and US Open Tennis Championships.

Hainline earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame, where he was the number one singles and doubles player his senior year. He majored in philosophy within a pre-professional program, taking all of the necessary pre-med courses, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He then went on to earn his medical degree at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and completed his residency in neurology at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center.

During an interview for his dream job as neurology resident with Drs. Fred Plum and Jerome Posner of The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, Hainline was asked how he had managed to play college tennis while studying both philosophy and pre-med. His reply was that while he didn’t have the extensive background in research that the other residency candidates had, tennis had taught him discipline, the drive for excellence, and character development that comes from the journey of successes and failures. That tennis response was the key serve in getting the job.

As the NCAA’s first chief medical officer, Hainline oversees all student-athlete health and safety initiatives and coordinates with the NCAA’s main sports medicine panel, the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, and is assigned the task of running the NCAA Sport Science Institute — a national center of excellence that functions as a resource to provide safety, health and medical expertise and research for physicians, athletic trainers, and all stakeholders in sport. Hainline sees his position as, “being devoted to doing everything possible to promote and develop the health, safety and well-being of all student-athletes.”

According to NCAA President, Mark Emmert at Hainline’s hiring, “The NCAA was founded on the commitment to protect and enhance the health and well-being of student-athletes and Dr. Hainline will elevate that commitment for the Association.”

Dedicated to raising the standard of care for athletes, Hainline has given lectures around the world, authored or edited seven books and numerous academic papers and chapters, is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Academy of Neurology and a member of The Society for Tennis Medicine and Science.

Hainline served as Chief Medical Officer for the U.S. Open Tennis Championships from 1992 to 2007 and was appointed the first Chief Medical Officer of the USTA in 2008. Prior to his appointment, Brian had been a long-time committed volunteer to the game of tennis, serving as a USTA board member, a founding member of the USTA Sport Science Committee, chair of the USTA Pro Council, and a member and chair of the ITF Sport Science and Medicine Commission, which provides guidance to 202 Olympic countries. As member of the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Medical Commission he wrote the rules of eligibility for international wheelchair competition.

Hainline is a founding member of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program Review Board for the ATP, ITF and WTA Tour. According to David Brewer, Chief Professional Tennis Officer & US Open Tournament Director, “Brian was central to the initial effort to establish the tennis anti-doping code. He did the heavy lifting — research and writing — that put tennis ahead of the curve in establishing a systematic approach to this issue.”

In addition to volunteering in the world of tennis, Brian has been teaching religion to pre-teens for more than two decades. “Whether I’m practicing neuroscience, teaching religion or developing policies and procedures for sport, unifying theme is to help people become aware of how they can take steps to improve their level of self-care, sense of awareness and well-being, and then to give back to life.”

In addition to those already mentioned, Hainline has served, and continues to serve, on numerous sports medicine appointments, some of which include, Pop Warner Football Medical Research Subcommittee, National Council on Youth Sports Safety, and the WTA Player Development Advisory Panel.

In 2001, The International Tennis Hall of Fame honored Hainline with the Tennis Educational Merit Award, presented to those who have made notable contributions in the tennis education field at the national level and have demonstrated leadership and creative skills in such areas as instruction, writing, organization and promotion of the game of tennis. In 2004 he received the Irving Glick Award of Excellence from the WTA Tour at the US Open Tennis Championships, recognizing sports medicine contributions by a tournament physician that are outstanding and exemplary. Hainline was inducted into the USTA Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame in 2011 and in 2013 was bestowed the ITF Award for Service to the Game.

Brian is married to Pascale and they have three children, Clotilde, Arthur and Juliette, and one grandchild, Sophie. In his free time, Brian loves to play tennis and also enjoys writing poetry and playing the piano.

PAST ITA DAVID A BENJAMIN ACHIEVEMENT AWARD LAUREATES

2015 John Bridgeland — Harvard University, 1982

2014 Lynn Tilton — Yale University, 1981

2013 Roger Crawford — Loyola Marymount University, 1982

2012 General Ann E. Dunwoody — State University of New York at Cortland, 1975

2011 Jon D. Erickson — University of Michigan, 1959

2010 Robert A Swift — Haverford College, 1968

2009 John L. Thornton — Harvard University, 1976

2008 Sheridan Snyder — University of Virginia, 1958

2007 Dr. Geoffrey Tabin — Yale University, 1978

2006 Thomas Cundy — Florida State University, 1955

2005 Steve Appleton — Boise State University, 1982

2004 Dr. George Fareed — University of California, 1966

2003 Gene Sperling — University of Minnesota, 1982

2002 Jack Blanton, Sr. — University of Texas, 1947

2001 Patricia Beckford Acheson — Queens College, 1972

2001 Judge Gerald E. Rosen — Kalamazoo College, 1973

2000 Dr. Ruth M. Haude — Indiana State (PA), 1958

2000 Dr. Michael P. Johnson — Clark University, 1979

1999 Christine Grant — Swarthmore College, 1969

1999 Governor Pedro Rossello — University of Notre Dame, 1966

1998 Lieutenant Colonel Gail Allen — Air Force Academy, 1982

1998 Dr. William Bowen — Denison University, 1955

1997 Dr. Bert Vogelstein — University of Pennsylvania, 1981

1997 Lisa Hoffstein — University of Pennsylvania, 1981

1996 Roger B. Porter — Brigham Young University, 1969

1996 Wilma A. Lewis — Swarthmore College, 1978

1995 Dr. Rebecca Birchmore Campen — University of Georgia, 1963

1995 Senator John Breaux — University of Southwestern Louisiana, 1964

1994 Judge Peggy Brenden — Luther College, 1976

1994 Athan James Shaka — Harvey Mudd College, 1980

About the ITA The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) is the governing body of college tennis, overseeing women’s and men’s varsity tennis at NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community College. The ITA administers a comprehensive awards and rankings program for men’s and women’s varsity players, coaches and teams in all divisions, providing recognition for their accomplishments on and off the court. For more information on the ITA, visit the ITA website at itatennis.com, like the ITA on Facebook or follow @ITA_Tennis on Twitter.