BRADENTON, Fla. – Legendary Hampton University tennis coach Dr. Robert Screen will be inducted into the Black Tennis Hall of Fame in a ceremony next month, celebrating his groundbreaking career and the barriers it helped break.

In a coaching career that spans more than 40 years, Dr. Screen has amassed 1,068 career victories – making him the winningest tennis coach in NCAA Division I history. He is also the most accomplished African-American coach in the history of collegiate tennis.

Before joining the MEAC in 1995-96, Dr. Screen's Hampton teams dominated the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) to the tune of 22 consecutive championships. He won the NCAA Division II national championship in 1976 and again in 1989, marking the only times a historically-black college or university (HBCU) won a national tennis title.

From 1985-1994, the Pirates finished No. 2 in the nation six times – including the team's final year of Div. II competition. Before moving up to the Div. I level, the Pirates made three straight NCAA appearances under Dr. Screen's guidance.

In addition to his NCAA titles, Dr. Screen has two HBCU National Championships to his credit, as well as three Virginia Collegiate Championships. Since joining the MEAC, Dr. Screen has led Hampton to 11 conference titles (seven men's, four women's). The Lady Pirates won their first MEAC title in 1996, their first year of existence, while the Pirates made their first NCAA Tournament appearance on the Div. I level in 1999.

A 1953 graduate of Hampton University (then Hampton Institute), Dr. Screen later received his M.A. from New York University and his Ph. D. from Michigan State University. Dr. Screen also founded the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Hampton, and he chaired the department until this past year.

Dr. Screen co-authored the textbook Multi-Cultural Perspectives in Communicative Disorders in 1994 with Dr. Norma Anderson, and he authored another textbook in 2007: HIV, Substance Abuse, and Communication Disorders in Children.

He also wrote a novel, The Ride to Nashville, in 2007.

Dr. Screen was also an inaugural inductee of the Hampton University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.

Dr. Screen will be officially inducted in a ceremony on Aug. 5 at 7 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Atlanta, Ga. Dr. Screen will be inducted as a contributor, and he will be joined by players Isadore Channels, Flora Lomax-Bray, Lulu Ballard and Lori McNeil.

For more information on Hampton University tennis, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.