Missouri Valley / Missouri

How Andrea Cullers helped bring new life to Joplin tennis facility

David Smale | January 14, 2026

If you’re on the Missouri Southern State University campus in Joplin, Mo., you should notice the refurbished tennis courts. If you’re impressed—which you will be if you haven’t seen them yet—you can thank Andrea Cullers.

Cullers is a tennis player and chair of the department of kinesiology at Missouri Southern, which means the tennis courts are essential to the students within her department. They were forced to use courts that were cracked, peeling and bordered by run-down fencing.

Cullers has no official authority within the athletics department, but that didn’t stop her. She took the initiative to find funding and help the courts become a centerpiece for tennis in the Joplin community.

“This is my 14th year at Missouri Southern,” Cullers said. “The courts looked horrible. The fences were falling down. My son is in elementary school, and he has gotten involved in tennis. I just felt that it would benefit the campus, the students in our department and the community that goes out and uses them.”

Skip Advertisement

Funding the Vision

It wasn’t as simple as a publicity campaign or getting a petition drive going to draw attention to the condition of the courts. The renovation came with a hefty price tag and no easy sources of funding. Cullers decided to contact the United States Tennis Association.

She reached out to John Terpkosh, USTA Missouri Valley senior manager of Tennis Venue Services, to figure out what needed to be done to complete the grant application. She then contacted local vendors for bids for the fencing, an ADA-compliant sidewalk and court resurfacing.

Because of the cost and scope of the project, it had to be taken out to formal bids. So, Cullers worked with the university, facility services and finance services on that process.

Andrea Cullers (right), chair of the department of kinesiology at Missouri Southern State University, was critical in the renovation of MSSU's tennis facility. Photo courtesy of Missouri Southern State University/Logan Mercier.

A ribbon-cutting celebration on Dec. 9 marked a milestone moment for the freshly refurbished, six-court tennis facility at MSSU. Photo courtesy of Missouri Southern State University/Logan Mercier.

The Dec. 9 ribbon-cutting ceremony was a sweet culmination to months of work renovating the tennis courts, fencing and sidewalk. Photo courtesy of Missouri Southern State University/Logan Mercier.

Prior to the upgrades, the tennis facility at Missouri Southern State University was in rough condition.

Andrea Cullers (right), chair of the department of kinesiology at Missouri Southern State University, was critical in the renovation of MSSU's tennis facility. Photo courtesy of Missouri Southern State University/Logan Mercier.
A ribbon-cutting celebration on Dec. 9 marked a milestone moment for the freshly refurbished, six-court tennis facility at MSSU. Photo courtesy of Missouri Southern State University/Logan Mercier.
The Dec. 9 ribbon-cutting ceremony was a sweet culmination to months of work renovating the tennis courts, fencing and sidewalk. Photo courtesy of Missouri Southern State University/Logan Mercier.
Prior to the upgrades, the tennis facility at Missouri Southern State University was in rough condition.

The $130,000-plus project was funded in part by USTA Tennis Venue Services grants from USTA national ($55,250) and USTA Missouri Valley ($3,500). The six outdoor, lighted tennis courts were resurfaced, new fencing was installed and an ADA-accessible sidewalk and gate were added. A Dec. 9 ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the renovated facility.

“On our side of town, there really aren’t any good courts with lights,” Cullers said. “We want to provide that opportunity for students and community members. Our campus library is going to have racquets and balls that can be checked out for students.”

Growing the Game

The MSSU kinesiology department uses the tennis courts as part of the curriculum.

“It’s important because we want our physical education students to be able to teach tennis in the classroom to their future students,” Cullers said. “How do you teach progressions? How do you get students to learn about the game?

“And then for our sport and recreation management students, how do they host tournaments? We’re hoping to host some intramural or elite tournaments where sport-rec management students can have the experience of hosting a tennis tournament.”

Marianella Padron of Millennium Family Fitness was a key resource for Cullers and has helped raise the tennis profile of Joplin by directing tournaments at Millennium. The Missouri Southern courts could also be a host site for USTA Missouri leagues in addition to their importance for MSSU students.

“In our area, everything is about basketball and football,” Cullers said. “So giving them experiences and opportunities with different types of sports is essential. They’re going to need to have that knowledge and experience. So from the academic side, that’s really important.

“In order to further the growth of the game, we need to educate and train those who are in school now so that they’re going to teach it; they’re going to encourage it. If they don’t know about tennis or how to play it when they’re in the workforce, they won’t be promoting it.”

So why did Cullers decide to get involved, even when the problem wasn’t in her court?

“Sometimes we take the opportunity to step up and do things that we don’t necessarily have to do,” she said. “But we know that it’s going to benefit the campus, our students in the department and the community at large.”

Learn more about USTA Tennis Venue Services grant funding by clicking here.

Tournaments
Programs

TOURNAMENTS NEAR YOU

PROGRAMS NEAR YOU