Dr. Rick Harley is in his eighth season as the head tennis coach at Nebraska Wesleyan University. In his seven years at the helm, the men and women have finished lower than second in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) standings just twice, won eight GPAC team titles, have a combined league mark of 89-14 and have been regulars at the NAIA National Tournament.

This past November, Harley was inducted into the Nebraska Tennis Association Hall of Fame for his work as the NWU head tennis coach and his individual success as a tennis player.

He needs just six more victories to reach 100 wins on the men’s side, and ten more victories to compile 100 victories in women’s tennis action.

Last year, Harley directed the NWU women to a GPAC runner-up finish in the regular season as the Prairie Wolves were 7-1 in GPAC action and 12-11 overall. He helped the men to a 4-3 mark in conference play and a 8-13 overall mark despite playing without a senior on the roster.

During the 2009 season, he guided both the men's and women's teams to the NAIA National Championships. The men were co-GPAC regular season champions, then both teams won the GPAC tournament to advance to the NAIA Tournament. It was the third straight trip to nationals for the women, and the first trip for the men since 2006.

In the 2008 season, he helped the women’s team share the GPAC regular season title and advance to their second straight NAIA National Championship appearance. The men also lost just one conference match and finished as GPAC runner-up.

In 2007, Harley led the Prairie Wolves to GPAC Championships posting perfect undefeated records for both the men and the women. The NWU men earned the No. 1 seed at the NAIA Region III Tournament but lost in the championship to the University of Sioux Falls. Coach Harley was named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/GPAC Men’s Tennis Coach-of-the-Year. The NWU women won the NAIA Region III Tournament and qualified for the NAIA National Championships for the first time since 1996.

In 2006 Harley guided the Prairie Wolves to GPAC Tournament titles for both men and women, as well as a pair of regular season championships (the men were co-champions with the University of Sioux Falls). The NWU men advanced to the NAIA Championships after winning the NAIA Region III Tournament, while the women were Region III Runners-up. In addition, Harley was selected as the Hauff Mid-America Sports/GPAC Coach of the Year for men was named the Co-Coach of the Year for women.

Harley, who served as an assistant on the tennis staff in 1996 and 1997, took over the top job in 2003 after a successful run as head coach of the NWU women’s golf team. Under his direction, the Prairie Wolves won four conference titles (1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000) in seven seasons. Nebraska Wesleyan had won only two league crowns in women’s golf prior to Harley’s arrival.

A three-year letter winner in tennis at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from 1962-64, Harley attended medical school at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and served as a family practitioner in Lincoln for 21 years before retiring in 1992.

Harley has played in adult tennis tournaments since 1970 and has consistently appeared in state and regional rankings. He has also played in senior events in Palm Springs and Phoenix for several years. In 1992, Harley was a member of the 4.0 Senior USTA National Championship team.

Harley participated in the 2004 World International Tennis Federation (ITF) senior grass court championships in Philadelphia, and he currently plays on a variety of USTA tennis teams during the summer. Harley resides in Lincoln with his wife, Pat.