John Eatman was one of the first outstanding tennis players at Barton College in 1965. A native of Wilson, Eatman played tennis and baseball at Fike High School.

He made the CIAC All-Conference team at the No. 1 position and led Barton to a No. 2 finish in conference and in the district in 1965.

Upon leaving Barton, Eatman received his Master’s in Business Administration in 1969 from Virginia Commonwealth University and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1972. He taught in the business department at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the University of Richmond, East Carolina University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Eatman has played sanctioned tournaments at the state and regional levels. He has held state rankings in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia as high as No. 1 in singles and No. 2 in doubles and has won two Southern Championships in doubles.

He served as a varsity tennis coach at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and as assistant tennis coach at Mary Washington College, the University of South Carolina and the University of Richmond. He has served as tournament director and tournament referee in 30 tournaments. Among other tournament services, he has served as director for the South Carolina State Closed Championships. He has served as an official of tennis associations in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. He has served as the Vice President of the North Carolina Tennis Association and Director of the USTA Player Development Program for North Carolina.

He received the President’s Award for Service in 1989 from the North Carolina Tennis Association. He is married to the former Jamis Croes. They have two children.