October 10, 2005

by Brett Miller

When Jan Bortner was named an Assistant Athletics Director at Penn State in September 2005, he described his newly-appointed position in administration as "living out a dream."

Now nearly two years removed from his combined 324-204 record as head coach of both women's (1982-90) and men's (1990-05) tennis teams at Penn State, Bortner says that he is still living out that dream.

"I love athletics," said Bortner with a large smile, "I believe my core values are consistent with Penn State's mission of success with honor, which includes emphasis on sportsmanship, graduation of students and how students represent blue and white pride."

Bortner said he has enjoyed his transition from head coach to administrator, but that the first year was challenging. "It's your first time to see everything along with becoming familiar with all of the sport budgets."

One of Bortner's other challenges as the primary administrator of 16 athletic teams (12 men's and four women's) was becoming familiar with each sport's unique qualities. To accomplish this, Bortner says he tries to get to as many sporting events as he can. "I give priority to home events so I can get a sense of the sport's fan base along with the student athletes and their parents." He said he also tries to attend to as many Big Ten and NCAA championships as possible to support the team and their coaches.

After 23 years training student-athletes to work as one cohesive unit, Bortner realized that his new position as an administrator was not that different.

"As a coach, the goal is to get 12 players on the team to work together while truly being a team and to share the accomplishments as a group," said Bortner. "As an administrator, the goal is to get all the coaches to work together to solve issues and problems as they come up."

Bortner said that his position has an awesome amount of responsibility with the challenge of managing a large family of student-athletes and staff, as well as facilities and schedules, but the rewards are far greater. "For me, the biggest reward is giving students the opportunity to play at the highest level."

With his appointment to Assistant Athletics Director in 2005, Bortner has seen all sides of the athletics department at Penn State. He is a 1975 graduate with a bachelor's degree in general arts and sciences and was a four-time letterwinner for the men's tennis team. During his time with the team, he earned NCAA Individual Tournament berths four times, advancing into the quarterfinal round once. He also won the Eastern Collegiate singles title in 1973 and 1975.

After a season in the professional ranks, Bortner returned to Penn State in 1982 to serve as the head coach of the women's tennis team, a position that he held until 1990. During that time, he took the team to a 145-45 record, earning seven Atlantic 10 titles and a regional crown.

Bortner became the head coach of the men's tennis team in 1990 and guided the Nittany Lions for 16 seasons, posting a 199-159 record until his retirement from coaching in 2005. In 1997, Bortner, who was a two-time Eastern Regional ITA Coach of the Year, led Penn State to its first NCAA Tournament appearance and its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory the following year.

Bortner has continued the Penn State tradition within his family as his wife and all three of his children have attended or are currently attending PSU. His son, David, is a member of the men's tennis team, which brings a rather large grin to the proud father's face.

"When David was growing up, I tried to get him involved in other sports so he didn't feel like he had to follow in my footsteps," said Bortner. "However, he kept asking me to teach him how to play tennis." Bortner said that it has been fun to watch his son play on the team. "When I go to a game, I become a fan, not a coach or an administrator, and it allows me to sit back and enjoy the game."