For the first time in the 37-year history of the tournament, Illinois will host the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Indoor Team Championships.

The tournament will begin on Thursday at the Mid-Town Tennis Center in Chicago. By Sunday night, a champion will be crowned. But for the members of the tournament staff and the Illinois tennis program, hosting the event is much more involved than a four-day process.

“It is our hope that when people leave this Indoor Championship, they don’t want to go anywhere else – they want Illinois,” said tournament coordinator Howard Milton.

Assembling the perfect tournament has not been easy though. First, a school that wants to host an event has to put together a package to present to the ITA, the governing body of collegiate tennis, and the United States Tennis Association (USTA), the governing body of tennis in the United States, explaining why the institution is the right one to host the event, Milton said.

“This should be a great college tennis atmosphere,” Milton said. “They know that we do a first-class job.”

Once the USTA/ITA chooses the school, the hard part begins – especially when an event is being hosted more than 130 miles from the University.

Throughout Chicago, tennis clubs vied to host the event. Jim Tressler, the Atkins Tennis Center Director of Programs, contacted businesses in Chicago as well as national companies to sponsor the event. Several regular supporters of Illinois athletics based in Champaign will contribute to the event as well.

“They know that (Illinois tennis) is a hot item right now,” Tressler said. “They just thought they would get some exposure for the people that would come to the match.”

There are also little details that factor into the event – many of which only a city like Chicago could provide – multiple airports and hotels for visiting teams and a large array of activities for fans to take part in.

“It’s a championship that is attractive to people because you’ve got the top teams in the country, indoor and outdoor, competing in one of the premier cities in the countries,” Milton said.

The tournament features 16 of the top schools in the nation, including defending NCAA champion Baylor. UCLA, last year’s NCAA runner-up, and two-time defending ITA National Indoor Champion Illinois will also be in attendance. With such high-caliber athletes in attendance, the most important aspect of hosting the event is ensuring the athletes and coaches have a memorable experience in a fan-friendly environment.

“You don’t want the same old championship year after year,” said assistant tournament coordinator Holly Stalcup. “We hope we brought something new.”

Jan Winters, the administrative assistant for the men’s and women’s tennis teams, also added her expertise. After working with the program for 10 years, she knows what the tennis community expects from a national championship. Without her, Milton said, the event would not be nearly as successful as he expects it to be.

“This is going to be one hell of an event,” Milton said. “They won’t forget this one.”