It has been said that the more things change, the more they stay the same. This adage can certainly be applied to the head coach of the Fordham University Men's Tennis and Squash Teams, Bob Hawthorn, who is in his 52nd year of coaching at Rose Hill, the longest tenure of all Ram coaches.

Since taking over the coaching reins in the fall of 1956, back when the tennis courts were made of clay and the squash team had to travel daily to the New York Athletic Club to practice and play its matches, Fordham has undergone many physical changes. But through it all, one thing remains constant: be it fall or spring tennis or squash in the winter, Hawthorn remains committed to coaching, to his players, to his family, and to Fordham.

A 1953 graduate of Fordham University, Hawthorn was a standout in both tennis and squash and was inducted into the Fordham Athletic Hall of Fame in 1977. Hawthorn gained Eastern ranking prominence in the 1950s in both tennis and squash.

Following his graduation, Hawthorn enrolled in the graduate school at Rose Hill, (eventually earning a Master of Science degree in Education in 1960), and took over the squash coaching reins in 1956. By 1958, Hawthorn was coaching the men's tennis team and teaching at Fordham Prep, a position which he just recently retired from in 2005. One of three coaches to be a three-time winner of the "Iron Major" Award (1976, 1984, and 1985), given to Fordham's top coach each year, Hawthorn also became a registered nurse in 1985.

He and his wife of 45 years, Eileen, reside in New Rochelle. The Hawthorns have seven children, all of whom have attended Fordham and either played or served as managers of the tennis team under their father. Most recently, the renovated outdoor tennis courts at Fordham were renamed the Rooney-Hawthorn Courts, a dual honor for Hawthorn and former women's coach John Rooney.