University of Minnesota Athletics
The Lifelong Connection
3/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
During his nine-year career at Minnesota, Gophers associate head coach Urban Ljubic has built an impressive coaching resume, but it is the connection he forms with his players from the start of the recruiting process until long after they graduate that he is most proud of.
Ljubic is the longest tenured assistant/associate coach in the Big Ten and has a list of achievements that rival any of his peers. He has helped lead the Gophers to seven NCAA Tournament appearances, has won two ITA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year Awards and helped bring the first men's tennis Big Ten championship to Minnesota in 20 years.
"The results of the team [on the court] are great but, for me, it is much more than that," Ljubic said. "I know all the guys that have graduated and have gone through the program are now doing extremely well in life."
The list of former Gopher tennis players who have built successful careers after graduating from the U is extensive. Tobias Wernet works as a Regional Director for Microsoft. Dino Bilankov went to Wall Street and is now at Harvard getting his MBA. Julian Dehn works with Riverbridge Partners in the Twin Cities. Rok Bonin does finance work with Cummins. Mathieu Froment stayed at Minnesota to complete his MBA at the Carlson School of Management. Those are just five examples from a list that numbers in the dozens.
More than he concentrates on aces or break points, Ljubic strives to help his student-athletes succeed in the classroom. That leadership produces results. The Gophers have been named an ITA All-Academic team for five straight years as numerous players have earned Academic All-Big Ten and ITA Scholar-Athlete honors.
They have also won the Outstanding Academic Team Award at the Golden Goldys as one of Gopher Athletics' most academically accomplished team three separate times.
"I would be more proud of the success that the guys get in the classroom," Ljubic said. "I want to make sure that they do things right outside of the tennis court. This way, by the time they graduate and start looking for jobs or internships, they give themselves the best opportunities to find something that they would like to work in."
All of this success for Gopher student-athletes, and the key role Ljubic has played in it, comes as no surprise to Minnesota head coach Geoff Young.
"He does such a good job in every aspect of coaching: recruiting, teaching and managing the team. I learn something new from him every year," said Young. "I trust him like my brother, and that is probably the most important thing."
Young and Ljubic's history goes back to the University of Denver. Young was the head coach there when Ljubic was looking to transfer from Lees-McRae College after his freshman season.
"Geoff got me on a visit to Denver and I felt like, even then, we developed a pretty strong bond. I really was happy that he gave me the opportunity to play there and, after that, one thing led to another," Ljubic said.
Ljubic graduated with a degree in International Business in 2004. He played No. 1 singles for most of his career with the Pioneers and earned first-team all-Sun Belt Conference honors in 2002-03.
"After he finished his eligibility at the University of Denver, I asked him if he would consider helping me coach," Young said. "I told him that he could also stay and get his MBA. He thought that sounded like a good idea."
Ljubic graduated with an MBA the following June and moved from graduate assistant to assistant coach. Two years later, in 2006, Young was offered the head coaching position at Minnesota and wanted Ljubic to join him.
"I thought he would be perfect [so] I tried to convince him that it could be a great situation for him," Young said.
"I had no clue about where the University of Minnesota was. I was never in this area of the U.S. before," said Ljubic, who came across the Atlantic from his hometown of Ljubljana, Slovenia to play collegiate tennis. "[Geoff] told me it was a big school in a big conference in the city, which is something that I really like. It was not a hard sell for me to come here."
Ljubic's experience moving to Minneapolis and falling in love with the area, as well as his own roots in Europe, has helped recruit players from outside of the country.
Current players Matic Spec (from Slovenia), Marino Alpeza (Bosnia) and Josip Krstanovic (Croatia) have all mentioned Ljubic's ability to relate to their personal stories as a key factor in coming to the University of Minnesota.
"I send them photos from Minneapolis so they can read ahead of time and look it over. I tell everyone once they get here, they are going to like it," Ljubic said.
Ljubic goes out of his way to make recruits feel more comfortable by speaking their native language and visiting them in their home countries. Knowing how difficult it can be to pack up and leave home to play tennis and attend college across the ocean helps him relate to the players and their families. He is able to ensure them that they will be in good hands, not only for the four years they are a player at Minnesota, but for a lifetime.
"For the most part, Geoff and I keep in touch with all our former players. We really try to," Ljubic said.
A decade after he moved to a strange place to follow his former coach, Ljubic did not even know he was the longest tenured assistant/associate coach in the Big Ten. He is more concerned with looking ahead at what is yet to be accomplished than looking back on what has already been achieved.
"Why go somewhere else if Minnesota gives us everything that we need to be successful?" Ljubic asked. "For me, I like it and I hope there are many more years to come."
Players Mentioned
