Tom Spanbauer begins his 20th season as Cortland’s women’s tennis head coach in the fall of 2025.
Cortland finished the 2024-25 season with a 6-5 dual-match record. The Red Dragons went 3-2 in conference play during the regular season to finish third in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC), and tied for third in the SUNYAC tournament. Cortland also had three student-athletes earn All-SUNYAC honors.
During the 2023-24 season, Spanbauer guided Cortland to a 7-6 dual-match record. The Red Dragons finished second in the SUNYAC regular-season with a 6-1 mark and tied for third in the SUNYAC tournament. During the 2022-23 season, the Red Dragons posted a 7-5 dual-match record and a tie for third place in the SUNYAC tournament. The Red Dragons also had a 7-5 mark and tied for third in the SUNYAC tournament in the fall of 2019.
In addition, Spanbauer's squads reached the SUNYAC semifinals in the spring of 2022, the fall of 2017, and three straight falls from 2013-15, with the 2014 team ending the fall with an 8-5 dual mark. The Red Dragons finished third outright and recorded an 8-4 dual record in 2011 and they tied for fifth in the SUNYAC tournament in 2016.
In 2010, Cortland finished 7-4 in duals and tied for third at the SUNYAC Championships. The previous autumn, the Red Dragons went 8-4 in dual matches and finished fourth in the league. In 2008, Spanbauer earned SUNYAC Coach of the Year honors after the Red Dragons posted a 6-5 dual-match record and placed third at league postseason tournament.
In his first season with the Red Dragons, Spanbauer led the team to a 6-3 dual-match record, a third-place finish at the SUNYAC Championships and a tie for seventh at the New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association (NYSWCAA) Championships.
Spanbauer coached tennis at Alfred University prior to his arrival at Cortland. He was the Saxons’ head men’s tennis coach for four years and the women’s head coach for one season.
Spanbauer served as Cortland's men's basketball head coach for 28 years from 1995 until his retirement in the spring of 2023.
Spanbauer currently teaches in SUNY Cortland’s physical education department. A Niagara Falls, N.Y., native, Spanbauer was a three-sport standout at Niagara Catholic High School. He graduated from Cortland in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and earned a master’s degree in 1986. A member of the Greater Niagara Athletic Hall of Fame, Spanbauer has two daughers - Eila and Bernice.
(updated 6/30/2025)
