May 25, 2001

University of Kentucky associate head coach Ford Lankford announced today his resignation from the men’s tennis program to pursue other interests.Lankford, 28, has been with the men’s program for three years. He began as an assistant during the 1997-98 season and was promoted to his current position of associate head coach following the 1998-99 campaign. He is active in both on- and off-campus recruiting and coaching, and assists with camp duties.

“I made the decision, after being an assistant in some aspect for four seasons, that it was time to either make a transition into a head coaching job or pursue other business interests. I can’t say enough about how special my time at Kentucky has been to me. Coach Emery has been behind me as a coach, coworker and friend since I was 12 years old. I have learned valuable lessons through my work with him and these special athletes.”

Lankford began his career at UK as a player under head coach Dennis Emery in 1993 after transferring from Florida State. The Lexington, Ky., native turned professional after college and enjoyed some success on the pro circuit before a back injury sidelined him for good.

Lankford returned to UK in 1997 as an assistant coach with the women’s tennis program under head coach Mark Guilbeau. The following year, Lankford made the transition to the men’s team, becoming involved in every aspect of coaching. Since that time, Lankford has been active in the recruiting and coaching process and counts one of his greatest accomplishments as helping to guide Carlos Drada to the 2000 NCAA Singles Championships title match.

“Our staff will never be the same without Ford,” Coach Dennis Emery said. “He is irreplaceable as far as I’m concerned. Whenever you have someone with as much compassion and commitment to the sport as Ford has, you will struggle to find someone to fill his shoes.”

As a player at UK, Lankford developed his skills as a leader both on and off the courts and was named team captain in both his junior and senior seasons. He enjoyed a terrific singles career as well, finishing with a 22-18 mark as a sophomore and a 23-16 record in his final season.

Emery looks to fill the vacated position as early as next month.