Mike Anderson's committment to excellence both on and off the court has made the coach one of the most popular members of the Radford athletic staff.

His RU squads have posted two of the best seasons in school history. RU garnered a 16-10 mark in 1998 and finished third in the Big South race. The Highlanders tallied a school record 20 wins in 1999, a season which re-established Radford among the elite in Big South tennis.

Anderson's teams play hard on the court but believes that athletes should be willing to give something back to the community. His team has been involved in numerous community service projects in the New River Valley and his motivation for doing so is simple: he wants his players to recognize how fortunate they are to play tennis at the major college level.

"We felt very fortunate to find someone with Mike's outstanding credentials and local ties in the tennis community to come in immediately and take over our program," Radford University athletic director Greig Denny said upon Anderson's hiring in 1996. "Mike's knowledge of the game is a strength but his desire to coach on the collegiate level and his enthusiasm made him the ideal choice to lead our tennis team."

Anderson was a long-time coach on the United States Tennis Association circuit, and has coached USTA adult league teams since 1985 in the New River area, in addition to coaching at several other levels of competition over the years. He was active in the Queen City tennis league in Charlotte, N.C., from 1975-85, before moving to the New River Valley.

"I'm very excited about the chance to coach at this level, and I think Radford is a great place to coach," said Anderson. "I think we can be very good this year, and we're going to get better."

Anderson, who has two sons and a daughter, resides in Radford with his wife Katheen.