NJTL Scholarships Named for Gilcrease

USTA Texas is proud to announce the annual NJTL Scholarship will be named in memory of influential tennis teacher and coach, Cleveland Gilcrease. 

Five scholarships of up to $2,500 will be awarded to NJTL participants in Texas pursuing their higher education. The support and naming of this scholarship was made possible thanks to a generous donor advised grant from the Coastal Bend Community Foundation. 

A longtime resident of Corpus Christi, Gilcrease began teaching tennis full time in 1978 and continued to have a passion for the game until his death in 2023. He was a staple in his local tennis community, regularly coaching at local schools and tennis centers throughout his community. 

Promoting education and empowering youth was central to Gilcrease’s mission. He directed the Free Neighborhood Program in Corpus Christi for more than 25 years and was a staunch supporter of the local NJTL program, Tennis Success. Gilcrease’s efforts were recognized in 1993, when he was awarded the USTA Texas Lloyd Sessions Educational Merit Award. 

The Cleveland Gilcrease NJTL Scholarships are need and merit based. Past and present NJTL Participants, that are either high school students who will be entering college, or college students who are in good standing at their respective college or university, who are U.S. citizens, and who live in the Texas Section are eligible to apply.

Click here to learn more and apply.

The National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) network features more than 250 nonprofit youth development organizations that offer free or low-cost tennis and education programming to over 160,000 under-resourced youth each year. USTA Texas is proud to support NJTL programs throughout the state of Texas.