Bishop, a native of
Sheffield, Ala., was a four-year letterman and standout in tennis for the Lions from
1982-85, winning back-to-back Gulf South Conference singles championships and
becoming the school's first tennis All-American. He played No. 1 singles for
four straight years and won back-to-back Gulf South Conference championships in 1984 and
1985.
He posted a 54-19 singles record over his last two seasons at UNA and was
named NCAA Division II All-American as a senior. He was selected to participate in the
1985 NCAA Division II tennis championships and advanced to the second round. He also
teamed with Calvert Bibb to win the 1985 GSC No. 1 doubles title. He had an 84-58 career
singles record. Bishop earned a B.S. degree in Physical Education from UNA in 1985.
As a coach at UNA, he led the women’s tennis in 1989 and 1990 and coached the
1989 UNA women’s cross country team to the GSC championship. He also played on
the professional tennis circuit, coached at Western Carolina University and served as
tennis professional at various clubs before accepting a position as the head tennis coach
at Union University (Tenn.). He returned to UNA as the Lions head men and women's
tennis coach in 1998.
