Members of the UF wrestling team at a reunion last year with former Gators coach Keith Tennant, seated in black shorts. (Photo: Courtesy of Nils Strandskov via Facebook)
Carter's Corner: Remembering Keith Tennant, a Longtime UF Professor Who Launched School's Wrestling Program
Friday, January 20, 2023 | General, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Keith Tennant accomplished much in his 80 years.
Tennant was an author and respected authority on sports psychology. He retired from the University of Florida in 1997 with emeritus status following a 30-year career in the College of Health and Human Performance. Not ready to call it quits, he spent five years at West Georgia, followed by 10 years at the University of Kansas, where he was chair of KU's Department of Health, Sport and Exercise Science from 2002 to 2005.
But to those who recall when Southeastern Conference schools had wrestling teams, Tennant is best remembered as the inaugural coach of UF's wrestling team, appointed by then-Florida athletic director Ray Graves to launch the program in October 1969.
The upstart program flourished under Tennant's leadership, earning him a spot in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. His wife, Laurie Tennant, has informed her husband's former UF wrestlers that Tennant passed away last week.
Former Gators wrestler Jeff Davis, inducted into the UF Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013, shared Laurie Tennant's message on Facebook.
"I want his wrestlers to know that I stayed by his side and told him over and over how much you all love him, and he was able to react as best he could in his final hours,'' Laurie Tennant wrote. "He heard what I had said, and he knew how very much I loved him and still love him. I am so blessed to have known this man with a heart of gold."
Tennant coached the Gators for five seasons, leading the team to a 57-13 record in dual matches from 1970-74. He continued to teach at UF after stepping down as the wrestling coach following the 1974 season, replaced by one of his former wrestlers, Gary Schneider.
Florida disbanded the program in 1979 and the school's original women's volleyball program due to an athletic department budget deficit.
In an era when SEC schools and most state schools had wrestling teams, UCF was the last Florida school to shutter its program in 1986. In 1996, the Tampa Tribune contacted Tennant about how high school wrestlers in the state had to leave home if they wanted to compete at the collegiate level.
Tennant recalled how the program started out competing in front of usually just family and girlfriends at Florida Gym but eventually started to draw fans and, in 1975, attracted nearly 8,000 fans for the SEC Tournament.
"You work years to build a program and produce it to a certain level," he said. "It hurts when all that is taken away. But I think [UF's] philosophy is that if we're going to have [wrestling], we're going to do it right."
L. Keith Tennant's impact was recognized in 1993 when the UF Athletic Hall of Fame inducted him as an honorary letterwinner.
Tennant was an author and respected authority on sports psychology. He retired from the University of Florida in 1997 with emeritus status following a 30-year career in the College of Health and Human Performance. Not ready to call it quits, he spent five years at West Georgia, followed by 10 years at the University of Kansas, where he was chair of KU's Department of Health, Sport and Exercise Science from 2002 to 2005.
But to those who recall when Southeastern Conference schools had wrestling teams, Tennant is best remembered as the inaugural coach of UF's wrestling team, appointed by then-Florida athletic director Ray Graves to launch the program in October 1969.
The upstart program flourished under Tennant's leadership, earning him a spot in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. His wife, Laurie Tennant, has informed her husband's former UF wrestlers that Tennant passed away last week.
Former Gators wrestler Jeff Davis, inducted into the UF Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013, shared Laurie Tennant's message on Facebook.
"I want his wrestlers to know that I stayed by his side and told him over and over how much you all love him, and he was able to react as best he could in his final hours,'' Laurie Tennant wrote. "He heard what I had said, and he knew how very much I loved him and still love him. I am so blessed to have known this man with a heart of gold."
Tennant coached the Gators for five seasons, leading the team to a 57-13 record in dual matches from 1970-74. He continued to teach at UF after stepping down as the wrestling coach following the 1974 season, replaced by one of his former wrestlers, Gary Schneider.
Florida disbanded the program in 1979 and the school's original women's volleyball program due to an athletic department budget deficit.
In an era when SEC schools and most state schools had wrestling teams, UCF was the last Florida school to shutter its program in 1986. In 1996, the Tampa Tribune contacted Tennant about how high school wrestlers in the state had to leave home if they wanted to compete at the collegiate level.
Tennant recalled how the program started out competing in front of usually just family and girlfriends at Florida Gym but eventually started to draw fans and, in 1975, attracted nearly 8,000 fans for the SEC Tournament.
"You work years to build a program and produce it to a certain level," he said. "It hurts when all that is taken away. But I think [UF's] philosophy is that if we're going to have [wrestling], we're going to do it right."
L. Keith Tennant's impact was recognized in 1993 when the UF Athletic Hall of Fame inducted him as an honorary letterwinner.
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