Marian Ware Director of Athletics Adam Hertz recently announced the hiring of Jason Box as the new head coach for the men's tennis program. Box will immediately assume coaching duties, taking over the team following the retirement of head coach Mike Mullan.

"Jason's growth as a coach and educator has been quite impressive," says Hertz. "His philosophy and drive are well-suited for Swarthmore, as is his passion for community engagement, both on campus and locally. We are excited for Jason to continue our long tradition of national success for men's tennis, and we welcome him to the Garnet athletics family."

Box has been the head coach of the men's and women's teams at Division III Millsaps College in Mississippi since 2011. He was the ITA South Atlantic Region Coach of the Year in 2018 on both the men's and women's side, and had two male student-athletes advance to the NCAA National Championship as individuals. This spring, his men's squad went 17-7, while the women finished 15-7.

Coaching at Swarthmore will be a homecoming of sorts for Box; during the 2007–08 school year, he served as the leave replacement head coach while Mullan was on sabbatical.

"It is with great appreciation that I thank President Valerie Smith and Adam Hertz for entrusting me to lead the Swarthmore men's tennis program," Box says. "My goal is to build on the legacy Coach Mullan and our alumni have created over the last several decades."

Mullan's legacy is considerable; his tenure, which began in 1978, is marked by three national championships, 20 student-athletes with All-American status, and more than 400 victories in dual match play. Mullan, a professor of sociology, is not retiring from the faculty. Read a tribute to Mullan by Steve Tignor ’92.

After his first stint at Swarthmore, Box was an assistant coach at Bates College for two years and the head coach at Lake Forest College for one year. He graduated from Sewanee: The University of the South in 2006 with a degree in anthropology and was a two-time all-conference player on the court.

The Garnet men's tennis team finished 2017–18 as the Centennial Conference runner-up and was ranked fifth in the region and 19th nationally.