LAFAYETTE—In 1977 head tennis coach Jerry Simmons of the then named University of Southern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns had an idea, he wanted to bring top competition to Lafayette and showcase the University's growing tennis program. To do that he developed a tournament that would attract the best competition in the country and the USL Tennis Classic was born.
"I wanted it to be like a pro event," said Simmons. "It was the first time someone had approached a collegiate event like that and to do it in the fall was something new as well."
That concept quickly grew into one of the top fall tournaments around, creating an atmosphere of tennis in Lafayette that hadn't been seen in Louisiana before and allowed the great community of Lafayette to come out and see some of the country's best.