John Mican, who was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 2007, began his coaching career at Bellarmine University in the fall of 2003 for the women’s tennis program and added men’s head coaching duties in 2010.
Mican, who is now only the women's coach, completed his 15th season in 2018-19.
In 2018-19, Mican led Bellarmine to its first-ever appearance in the GLVC Tournament finals as the Knights upset No. 21 Drury 4-3 in the quarterfinals and Missouri-St. Louis 4-2 in the semifinals. The Knights posted a 13-9 record in securing their 11th straight winning season.
Bellarmine put together the most successful season in program history in 2017-18. The Knights won a program-record 21 matches and were co-champions of the GLVC East. Bellarmine earned its second invitation to the NCAA Tournament in program history. On the strength of this unprecedented success, Mican was named Kentucky Coach of the Year for 2018 by the USTA, the third such recognition in his career with the Knights.
In 2016-17, Mican guided the Bellarmine women's team to a then-program-record 18 victories. The Knights placed second in the GLVC East, their best finish since 2007.
In 2015-16, the Bellarmine women earned a berth in the GLVC Tournament for the 11th time under Mican.
In 2014-15, Mican became the winningest coach in the history of the women's program. The Knights won their first 11 matches and finished 14-3 overall, including 4-2 in the GLVC. They were a perfect 9-0 in home matches and earned a berth in the GLVC Tournament. Mican also led the men's team to a strong season, as the Knights won their first eight matches and finished 11-4.Â
In 2008, Mican guided the women’s tennis team to its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in school history. His women's squads have annually qualified as ITA Academic All-American Teams (minimum 3.2 GPA). His 2008 team set the Bellarmine school record for highest team GPA ever with a combined 3.79.
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Under Mican, the women's tennis team has been honored with the GLVC Sportsmanship of the Year Award five times as voted on by their peers.
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The men's tennis teams advanced to the GLVC Tournament two times under Mican. In 2012, Mican coached Anton Rabinov to the finals of the ITA Midwest Regional Small College Tournament. The men's team also won the GLVC Sportsmanship award in 2011-12.
Mican is a member of the Professional Tennis Registry and sits on the ITA Midwest Region Ranking Committee as well as the ITA Midwest Region Tournament Seeding Committee. In 2006 and 2015, Mican was awarded the Coach of the Year by the Kentucky section of the United States Tennis Association.
Mican attended the University of Illinois and received a bachelor's degree from Columbia College in Chicago. Mican is married to photographer Martha Work. They have two daughters, Frances and Grace, who are both Bellarmine graduates.  Â
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