Howard Payne University
Brownwood, TX · private, nonprofit · 713 undergraduates
Which tennis teams does Howard Payne University field?
Howard Payne University, in Brownwood, TX, fields 2 tennis teams, men's tennis and women's tennis, competing in NCAA Division III as a member of the American Southwest Conference.
The men's roster is the larger of the two, 9 players against 6, in the school's latest Equity in Athletics filing.
Howard Payne University's men's tennis roster is smaller than it was: 9 players in 2025, down from 12 in 2020. That 2025 roster is well below the American Southwest Conference median of 15, by 38%, and about the same distance from the NCAA Division III median. Howard Payne University lists 1 head coach and 1 assistant for men's tennis, which works out to about 4.5 players per coach, well below the American Southwest Conference median of 9.5, by 53%.
Howard Payne University's women's tennis roster has moved around, as low as 5 in 2024 and as high as 9 in 2021, and ended 2025 at 6. That 2025 roster is well below the NCAA Division III median of 10, by 40%, and about the same distance from the American Southwest Conference median. Howard Payne University lists 1 head coach and 1 assistant for women's tennis, which works out to about 3 players per coach, well below the American Southwest Conference median of 5.7, by 47%.
Each team page below covers roster size and its trend, coaching staff, spending per player against conference and division medians, and what the school and town are like for a recruit.
How does Howard Payne University fund its athletes?
Howard Payne University reported 348 athletes across all sports in its 2025 Equity in Athletics filing, 246 men and 102 women, a roster count that leans heavily male.
It reported no athletically related student aid for that year, which is what to expect from NCAA Division III: any help with cost here comes through academic or need-based aid, not a tennis scholarship.
Recruiting spending was $12,382 for men's sports and $6,171 for women's, tilted toward the men's side, or about $50 and $61 per athlete.
What is Howard Payne University like academically?
Howard Payne University is a small private, nonprofit university offering graduate degrees that admits 67% of applicants, moderately selective by national standards, where the median college admits 78%.
Admitted students' SAT scores average 1026.
The full cost of attendance is around $46,766 a year, well above the national median of $25,497, but the average family paid about $23,627 after grants and scholarships, in the above the median nationally, so aid covers roughly 49% of the sticker price on average.
44% of undergraduates receive federal Pell grants, a sign the school enrolls many families with limited income.
28% of students finish their degree within six years, in the bottom quarter nationally and 52% of first-year students return for a second year.
Ten years after enrolling, former students earn a median of $48,376, above the median of $40,747.
What can you study at Howard Payne University?
No single field dominates: the largest, Business, Management & Marketing, is 16% of degrees, with Education, Parks, Recreation & Fitness and others close behind.
The bachelor's degree programs below awarded the most degrees in the most recent College Scorecard field-of-study data.
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (14 degrees)
- Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (12 degrees)
- Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (10 degrees)
- Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness (9 degrees)
- Criminology (9 degrees)
- Biology, General (7 degrees)
- Political Science and Government (6 degrees)
- Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (5 degrees)
- Accounting and Related Services (5 degrees)
- Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (5 degrees)
What is Brownwood, TX like to live in?
Howard Payne University sits in Brownwood, a remote town of about 19,000 people in Brown County, Texas.
Household incomes in Brownwood, a median of about $47,821, sit far below the Texas median and likewise far below the national one, 39% lower than the country as a whole.
Housing is where the area is cheapest: a typical owner-occupied home is valued around $123,700, 52% below the Texas median and a typical rent of $829 a month is 38% under the state figure.
Getting around is quick: the average commute is 14 minutes against a national average near 27, and nearly everyone drives alone.
The age mix is close to the national picture, a median of 36, with 23% under 18 and 17% aged 65 or over.
19% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, fewer than the Texas average of 33%.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Howard Payne University have a tennis program?
- Yes. Howard Payne University fields men's tennis (NCAA Division III, American Southwest Conference) and women's tennis (NCAA Division III, American Southwest Conference), per its Equity in Athletics filing to the U.S. Department of Education.
- Where is Howard Payne University?
- Howard Payne University is in Brownwood, TX, in the Southwest region of the United States.
- How much does Howard Payne University cost?
- The College Scorecard lists an average cost of attendance of $46,766 a year, and an average net price of $23,627 after grants and scholarships.