Andy Tulleners enters his 12th season as the head fencing coach at Cleveland State University. Tulleners began his second stint as the head coach in 2017 after taking two years off. 

In the 2021 shortened season, the Vikings had six athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships; three men and three women. The six fencers qualifying, tied the most NCAA qualifiers in a single season in program history. In addition, the program finished top-20 with all six individuals placing top 25.

Tulleners was named the 2020 Midwest Conference Men’s Coach of the Year, the second straight season he earned a Coach of the Year honor from the league.

The CSU men posted their best result at the Midwest Championships in program history in 2020, taking second place with 735 points. Both the foil and epee units claimed runner-up honors as the men improved by three places from the previous season. Freshman Lucas Bolton finished second in foil in the individual portion of the conference meet, marking the best individual finish by a Viking at MFC’s in program history.

The CSU women finished in sixth place at the Midwest Championships in 2019-20 with 600 points, equaling their highest-ever finish at the event. It was a six-spot bump for the Viking women from the season prior, which helped Cleveland State tie for third in combined team score with 1,335 points. The combined placing marked a 17-place improvement over the past two seasons for Cleveland State.

Tulleners also guided 21 student-athletes to qualify for the NCAA Regional competition in 2019-20, the most Viking qualifiers in program history. Tulleners led two of those student-athletes, Bolton and Ahmad Taqi, to USFCA All-Region honors. Bolton and Taqi were two of only three student-athletes, male or female, that were named All-Midwest Region and did not hail from a Power-Five school.

Tulleners had been named the 2019 Midwest Conference Coach of the Year as Cleveland State displayed a large jump from his first season to his second.

After the Vikings tied for 20th place at the 2018 Midwest Conference Championships, he led the squad to an eighth-place finish at the 2019 event. CSU garnered 320 total points at the 2018 Championships but more than tripled that the next year when it collected 1,005 points.

The Cleveland State men posted their best finish at the MFC’s in 15 years, finishing fifth with 635 points in 2019. The men's foil unit took second place at the conference championships, finishing only behind nationally ranked Ohio State, while the men's epee team also won three team bouts at the event.

Tulleners also guided his women's foil squad to three victories at the event as the unit outpaced its seed. This was achieved despite the fact that the team was composed of three true freshmen.

Tulleners also saw 11 Vikings compete at the 2019 NCAA Midwest Regional, the highest figure for CSU in five years.

Tulleners is no stranger to the CSU fencing program as he is in the midst of his second stint leading the squad. He was the head coach for seven seasons from 2008-15.

During his first stretch as head coach, Tulleners was named Midwest Fencing Conference Coach of the Year in both 2011 and 2014. He also helped three different individuals qualify for the NCAA Championships.

CSU's associate head coach for the 2015-16 & 2016-17 seasons, Tulleners served on the NCAA Fencing Committee in 2014-15 and is the Secretary of the Midwest Conference, a role he's held since 2014. He also was an assistant coach for Cleveland State for three seasons from 2005-08.

As head coach at CSU, Tulleners has consistently ensured his student-athletes performed well off the strip as his teams have combined for nine NCAA APR Public Recognition awards. The CSU women also claimed the athletic department’s annual ‘Best of the Best’ honor, awarded to the team with the highest grade point average, in both 2017-18 and 2018-19.

At the end of the 2016-17 season, Tulleners earned USA Fencing's 'Spirit of the Sport' award. He was one of six individuals nationally chosen based on commitment to the sport of fencing, as well as commitment to his or her club, along with the sportsmanship, leadership, teamwork and character that the nominee displays.

Tulleners also played a large role in helping Cleveland State host the 2019 NCAA Fencing Championships on campus inside the Wolstein Center, the first time that CSU hosted the prestigious event.

Tulleners earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Dayton in 1999. He lives in nearby Chardon, Ohio.