Dunagan Inks Contract Extension Through 2030 Season
7/17/2026 1:55:00 PM | Women's Tennis
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – University of North Florida Women's Tennis Head Coach Catherine Dunagan has agreed to a multi-year contract extension through the 2030 season, as announced by Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nick Morrow on Friday.
"We're thrilled to extend Head Coach Catherine Dunagan's contract and continue building upon the tremendous momentum of our Women's Tennis program under her leadership," Morrow said. "Catherine has established a culture of excellence, accountability and holistic student-athlete development that aligns perfectly with the values of North Florida Athletics. Her commitment to sustaining a championship-caliber program while fostering success in the classroom, in competition and in life has not only elevated the program, but strengthened our department as a whole. We're excited about the future and are confident that Catherine will continue to lead our student-athletes to new levels of achievement, while representing North Florida with integrity, passion and pride."
"I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to continue leading this program at North Florida," Dunagan added. "This university has become so much more than just a place to coach; it has become home. Looking back on everything we've accomplished together, I am filled with gratitude for our student-athletes, staff, alumni and everyone who has believed in the vision we've been building. I am especially thankful for the trust and unwavering support of our university leadership, particularly Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nick Morrow and Senior Associate AD Donna Kirk. Their belief in our vision and confidence in my leadership is both humbling and motivating. I look forward to continuing to develop outstanding student-athletes, compete at the highest level and further establish UNF as a nationally recognized program."
Under Dunagan's leadership, North Florida notched its winningest season in the program's 22-year history with 25 wins in 2026. North Florida remained the only undefeated Division I program in the nation with a 25-0 record after an ASUN Championship title.
In 2026, Dunagan led the Ospreys to an undefeated 22-0 regular season, marking the program's best single-season record since its inception in 1995. With Dunagan's guidance, North Florida became the only undefeated Division I program in the nation at 17-0 with a win against North Alabama on March 22. Dunagan guided North Florida to an undefeated 13-0 home record for the first time since 2020 with a win over Austin Peay on March 29.
With Dunagan at the helm, North Florida was ranked in the ITA National Rankings for nine-straight weeks in 2026. Dunagan led North Florida to its highest ITA National Ranking since 2021 at No. 49. She guided North Florida to a No. 5 finish in the 2026 ITA Southeast Regional Rankings. Dunagan surpassed 100 wins at North Florida in her seventh season at the helm against UAB on March 13. Dunagan led North Florida to a 101-28 overall record in singles and a 44-17 overall record in doubles in 2026.
Dunagan was named 2026 ASUN Coach of the Year and 2026 ITA Southeast Regional Coach of the Year.
Dunagan was named the program's Head Coach on Aug. 16, 2019. In seven seasons at the helm, Dunagan has claimed an overall record of 110-44 and a 35-7 mark against ASUN Conference opponents.
Since 2019, Dunagan has collected three ASUN Tournament Championships, three regular season ASUN titles, three ASUN Coach of the Year awards and an ITA Southeast Regional Coach of the Year selection.
Dunagan guided North Florida to its first-ever NCAA Tournament win in 2021 NCAA Regionals First Round with a 4-3 win against No. 25 Ole Miss on May 7, 2021. The Ospreys' win over the Rebels marked the first time an ASUN program has won an NCAA Tournament match.
Dunagan has developed four ASUN Player of the Year selections, four ASUN Doubles Pair of the Year honorees and one ASUN Freshman of the Year nod, in addition to eight First Team, five Second Team and one Third Team All-Conference selections.
Dunagan tallied her most single-season ASUN wins in 2022, coaching the Ospreys to an 8-1 record in conference play en route to one of her three ASUN Regular Season titles. With Dunagan's guidance, North Florida was ranked the No. 10 team in the final 2023 ITA Southeast Regional Rankings. Dunagan captured the program's first-ever regular-season victory over an SEC opponent when it defeated Missouri on Feb. 27, 2022.
In 2020-21, Dunagan led North Florida to an 18-8 overall record with an undefeated 6-0 record in conference play. Dunagan guided the Ospreys to 2021 ASUN Division, Regular Season and Tournament titles. In her third season with the Ospreys, Dunagan reached 100-career wins against Lipscomb on Apr. 23, 2021.
A native of Opelika, Ala., Dunagan earned a Bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Mathematics from Presbyterian in 2007. A four-year letter winner at Presbyterian, Dunagan played in the No. 1 singles and doubles position with the Blue Hose, where she helped lead the program to four-straight Southern Atlantic Conference titles and a 24-1 league record.
