"We are extremely pleased to have Adam Steinberg directing our men's tennis program," said Pepperdine's Director of Athletics, Dr. John Watson. "Our final pool of candidates was outstanding. Adam's past track record of success as a head coach was a valuable commodity, especially when you consider the national stature of our program. We contacted a number of people about Adam, and all of the feedback was positive. His dedication, integrity, moral character and work ethic are well-known in the tennis community, and we are thrilled to have him on board at Pepperdine."

In five seasons at Alabama, Steinberg, 36, has directed the Crimson Tide to an overall dual match record of 69-57 (.548) while competing in the rugged Southeastern Conference (SEC), the nation's top league for men's college tennis. Alabama has been ranked in the national Top 20 three of the last four years and advanced to the NCAA Championships four times during Steinberg's tenure.

Including a five-year stint as the head coach at St. John's, Steinberg's cumulative head coaching record stands at 130-79 (.622) in 10 seasons.

"Pepperdine is highly regarded in the world of men's collegiate tennis, and I am excited about the challenge of directing the program," said Steinberg. "The University is well-respected for its unique combination of outstanding academics and its established tennis tradition. My past coaching experiences at Alabama, Northwestern, Penn State and St. John's will serve me well."

Pepperdine has advanced to the NCAA Championships on 22 occasions since 1978, including each of the last five seasons. The Waves completed the 2002 campaign with an overall record of 25-6, advanced to the quarterfinal round at the NCAA Championships and completed the campaign ranked No. 5 nationally, the program's best since 1995.

A native of New York, Steinberg played college tennis at Penn State and served as the team captain for the Nittany Lions as a senior in 1987-88. He was as a student assistant coach during the 1988-89 season while completing work toward a bachelor's degree in marketing.

Steinberg returned to New York as the assistant coach at St. John's during the 1989-90 season, and was promoted to the head coaching assignment at the school in the fall of 1990.

He was the head coach at St. John's for five seasons from 1990-95, compiling an overall dual match record of 61-22 (.735). Steinberg directed the Red Storm to the Big East title in 1991, and the team finished second at the event in 1993, 1994 and 1995.

Following the 1995 season, Steinberg opted to further his coaching career with a higher profile program and was hired as the assistant coach at Northwestern. The Wildcats claimed the NCAA Region IV Championship in 1997, thus securing a berth to the 16-team NCAA Championships. Northwestern won the regular season Big 10 Conference title and completed the year with a dual match mark of 20-7 and a No. 25 national ranking.

After two seasons at Northwestern, Steinberg was hired as the head coach at Alabama in the summer of 1997. Steinberg proceeded to direct the Crimson Tide to the NCAA Championships in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002, while his 1999 and 2002 teams completed their respective seasons ranked No. 18 nationally.

Alabama posted a dual match record of 15-8 during the 2002 campaign, and tied for second place in the SEC West Division with a 7-4 league mark. The Crimson Tide notched wins over No. 8 ranked Kentucky and No. 12 Auburn, two teams that advanced to the quarterfinal round at this year's NCAA Championships.

This summer, Steinberg is serving as the head coach for the USA Collegiate Summer National Team, a training opportunity for the nation's top collegiate players.