SEWARD, Neb. – Luther College alum Cam Long has been tabbed as the Head Coach of the Concordia University Men’s and Women’s Tennis programs, as announced on Friday (Aug. 6). Long transitions to the head coaching position after previously serving as the assistant coach at NCAA Division III Centre College in Dansville, Ky. Long replaces former head coach David DeSimone.
Long has ascended quickly in his young coaching career that followed a collegiate career at the NCAA Division III level.
Said Long, “Thank you to Devin Smith and Angela Muller for giving me this opportunity. I am grateful they have the trust in me to lead both the men's and women's tennis programs. It is an exciting opportunity to take over two programs that have recently been competitive in the GPAC. I look forward to building on the solid foundation that has been established and getting to work with these student-athletes every day toward accomplishing our goals.”
Said Director of Athletics Devin Smith, “We are excited to welcome Cam to the Concordia University community. While young in his coaching career, Coach Long embodies the traits we look for in our head coaches. He is an up-and-comer in the profession with the ability to grow our tennis programs. Furthermore, Cam understands the atmosphere of college athletics and what it takes to succeed. I look forward to watching him grow personally and professionally as Head Tennis Coach.”
In his assistant role assisting the men’s and women’s teams at Centre from January 2021 until August 2021, Long served as recruiting coordinator. He helped guide the Colonels men’s and women’s squads to appearances in Southern Athletic Association championship matches. The women’s team finished ranked 36th nationally while the men’s team ranked as high as 13th in the Atlantic South Region (both high watermarks for those respective programs). Long coached eight all-conference performers at Centre.
Long’s coaching experience also includes a run at the high school level. He assisted the boys’ tennis program at Liberty High School (Iowa) during the spring of 2020 and has served as a youth instructor in his former college town of Decorah, Iowa, and his hometown of Dubuque, Iowa.
As a collegiate athlete, Long lettered four times for the Norse, a member of the America Rivers Conference. He also served on Luther’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and participated in the NCAA Career In Sports Forum in 2018. Long has grown up immersed in college athletics. His father Curt Long is the Director of Athletics at Clarke University in Dubuque.
Cam graduated from Luther with a B.A. in Data Science. He owns an M.A. in Sport & Recreation Management from the University of Iowa.