Kamau Murray, a 2004 FAMU graduate with a B.S. and MBA degrees, who attended the university on a tennis scholarship has started the XS Tennis and Education Foundation on Chicago’s South Side which trains more than 3,000 students each year.
XS Tennis’ goal is to provide a space for kids from underserved communities to play the sport year-round and to go after college tennis scholarships that are often unused or less competitive than sports like football and basketball. The program has sent nearly
One of Murray's students, Sloane Stephens, won the 2017 U.S. Open, while Taylor Townsend, played into the fourth round of the 2019 U.S. Open.
“I find a lot of pleasure in helping somebody else achieve their goal,” he says. “ … Getting a kid a scholarship helps me sleep good at night.”
Since Murray started XSTEF, 2005, he has helped over 50 students secure tennis scholarships to Division I schools at a value of $9.3 million.