Robert Langran, the longtime Villanova tennis coach who started the women's program and won more than 600 career matches with the Wildcats men's and women's teams, passed away on August 20 at 84 years of age.  Dr. Langran was a long-tenured coach, administrator and professor of Political Science at Villanova who remained an ardent supporter of Wildcats athletics in his retirement.
 
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, August 24 at 11 a.m. at St. Thomas of Villanova Parish Church on campus.  Visitation will be from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. at the church.  In lieu of flowers, contributions in Dr. Langran's memory may be made to the Villanova Men's and/or Women's Tennis programs, by mail to Picotte Hall, 800 E. Lancaster Ave., Villanova, PA 19085 or online at www.villanova.edu/makeagift (click on "Memorial Gift" and designate "Men's or Women's Tennis" in the name of Dr. Robert Langran).
 
In the fall of 1968, Langran was already the men's tennis head coach and a Villanova professor when he was approached by a group of young women with a dream.  In an era when men's sports dominated the landscape, Langran readily accepted the opportunity to coach the women who would form the first Villanova women's tennis team.  Over the next 25 years, Langran led the women's tennis program to more than 300 victories.  His career record as head coach of the women's team was 305-132 and he compiled a .698 winning percentage. 
 
Langran also revived the men's tennis program in 1967 after a 25-year absence and led the men's team to 323 victories with a .647 winning percentage during his career.  In all, his teams won more than 600 matches and had a .670 winning percentage during his time as head coach.  Langran was also an athletics administrator who served on numerous search committees that hired many of the personnel that would be instrumental in the growth of the Wildcats women's athletics program in its early years.  He was on hand to be recognized this past November when Villanova celebrated its first 50 years of women's athletics with a signature event on campus.  Langran is also a 1992 inductee to the Villanova University Varsity Club Hall of Fame. 
 
Robert (Bob) W. Langran, Ph.D., passed away on August 20, 2019, at 84 years of age. He was a devoted husband to Eleanor (née Groh); loving father to Irene (Stephen M. Smith), Elizabeth, and Thomas; and adoring grandfather to Adam and Delia. He was the son of the late Robert J. and Leona Langran (née Williams). He also had 11 godchildren. 
 
Bob earned his bachelor's degree at Loyola University Chicago, his master's degree at Fordham University, and his Ph.D. at Bryn Mawr College. From 1956 to 1958 he served in the U.S. Army Ordinance Corps, where he made lifelong friends. His life was centered on his long career at Villanova University, where he taught and researched in Political Science from 1959 to 2015, sharing with generations of students his passion for civil rights, the study of the Supreme Court, constitutional law, women's studies, and peace studies.
 
While at Villanova University, Bob chaired the Political Science Department from 1968 to 1978 and from 2008 to 2009. He chaired the committee that devised the University Senate and was the first chair of the Faculty Congress. He was awarded the Best Advisor Award (2001), Faculty Service Award (1997), Political Science Department Best Teacher Award (1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000), and Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching (1972). He was active in various roles, including president for the Quarterly Club, the association of retired Villanova faculty. Among the books he published are Supreme Court: A Concise History and (with Martin Schnitzer) Government, Business, and the American Economy. Upon retirement, when asked about his most satisfying aspect of teaching, he replied, "I think imparting knowledge to young minds and opening them up to things they maybe have never been exposed to before. It's extremely gratifying when people, after they leave Villanova, write or email you and tell you what a great course it was."
 
Bob was a lifelong fan of the New York Yankees and Villanova athletics. Among the greatest joys of his life were Villanova basketball's national championships in 1985, 2016, and 2018. He relished good times with friends and family, adored his grandchildren, and loved a good joke.