Steve Bickham, the Head Coach of Men’s Tennis at Pomona-Pitzer, has been named the June 2023 USTA Southern California Tournament Director of the Month. With ten successful seasons, Bickham has elevated the program to new heights.

In 2016, the Sagehens ended the year with a 16-9 overall record, finishing as the No. 9 team in Division III, and reaching the No. 4 spot during the regular season. They added two talented All-Americans to their roster as Spencer Simonides and Graham Maassen earned All-American honors in doubles. In 2015, Pomona-Pitzer achieved a remarkable 26-7 record, climbing as high as No. 3 in the national rankings and earning Bickham the ITA West Region Coach of the Year Award.

In his first year at the helm, Bickham led the Sagehens to a 17-8 record, a top 10 ranking, and an impressive runner-up finish in the NCAA West Regionals. In addition to his success on the court, Bickham earned the 2014 Sectional Community Outreach Award for Southern California from the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and ITA in his first season with the Sagehens.

Bickham arrived at Pomona-Pitzer with over 25 years of experience in the tennis industry, as a player, a coach, in private industry, and in the nonprofit sector. He spent the previous two years as the executive director of the USTA Idaho District in Boise, where he managed all operations for the district office. In that role, he also served as the executive director of the Idaho Tennis Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to support the youth and education programs developed by USTA Idaho.

Prior to working for USTA Idaho, Bickham served as director of tennis and operations for Youth Tennis San Diego from 2005-2010. He was responsible for the operation and management of the Barnes Tennis Center, a public facility with 25 tennis courts, a 3,000-foot conference room and education center. His facility hosted NCAA events, USTA junior and adult national championships, and dozens of USTA events, while he oversaw recreation and education programs for over 250 kids and adults monthly. He was named the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) San Diego Tennis Pro of the Year in 2009.

Bickham’s coaching experience includes three years as the head coach of both men’s and women’s tennis at Division I Northern Arizona University from 2001-03, where he led the women’s team to its first ever top 75 ITA ranking. He also spent three years as an assistant coach with the men’s tennis program at Arizona State, helping the Sun Devils to a No. 15 national ranking in 1995, while also coaching the NCAA singles champion (Sargis Sargsian).

Bickham’s involvement with tennis has also extended to private enterprise, as he was the owner and president of Performance Management International for 15 years, founding the company in 1990 to assist with club management, player coaching and event management in the tennis industry. His clients included tennis programs in Michigan, Vermont, Arizona, New Mexico and Montana, while he continued to serve as a Professional ATP Tour Coach for Sargsian, including trips to Wimbledon, the French Open and the U.S. Open.

A 1987 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a major in history and a biology minor, Bickham was a Division I All-American tennis player for the Lobos and played professionally on the ATP tour for four years after graduation, earning a top 500 world ranking. He also has an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona.