When it comes to promoting a collegiate athletic program through fan engagement, it is tough to top the effort of Mindy McCord and her team. Following each home game during this inaugural season of women’s lacrosse at the University of South Florida, the Bulls have spent several minutes mingling with fans, signing autographs and otherwise promoting a sport that has created an unmistakable buzz on the Tampa-based campus. As critical as such engagement has been and will continue to be given the need to provide education on a new intercollegiate sport at USF, social media has also proven to be a wonderful vehicle. That includes postgame thoughts from McCord, who might point out great individual play, how the team did defensively and how it fared on draws. McCord has long been passionate about growing the sport and such effort, as well as some fun rules videos (see below) the team produced, can only help. She is a huge sports fan and often wonders what is percolating between the ears of a coach, any coach, in a given situation.
“That’s what I like to look at as a coach, what people think,” she said. “The game inside the game. When I am watching a sport, I am like, ‘I wonder what he is thinking there.’” McCord, who was hired in May 2022 to build the program at USF following an 11-year stint at Jacksonville University, where she built a program that appeared in eight NCAA tournaments on her watch, appreciates the feedback. “I think people identify with what I am writing about,” she said. “Even parents would tell me that they did not see something (during a game) and would ask what I was thinking at that moment. It is another way to connect.”
It is that level of commitment and dedication by Kelly and the university’s administration, including, but not limited to, outgoing president Rhea Law and Will Weatherford, chair of the board of trustees, that appealed to McCord.
“The school wants lacrosse to be a revenue driver,” said the Maryland native and graduate of Lynchburg (Va.) College. “They want to bring people to the game and want to bring fans to the game and be loyal fans of this team.”
“At JU, lacrosse became like the football of sports,” said McCord. “Men’s and women’s lacrosse became the priority sport, which was great and why I considered not leaving. We had everything we wanted. The student experience (at USF) is different because it is a large state school with football, and I think a lot of kids are attracted to the feel of a bigger school.”
McCord had to be creative when it came to recruiting at JU. Nursing was, and continues to be, a top undergraduate program and was a considerable piece of her recruitment puzzle. Academics is key as well at USF, which in 2023 joined the Association of American Universities (AAU), an elite group of leading research institutions.
“I was able to target market who in the club programs wanted to go with nursing and were also the best players,” said McCord. “With some, I probably did not have any business from a talent perspective of getting them, but I was able to leverage that niche as a major. (At USF), it is broader. Do you want an undergrad and a master’s degree at an AAU school? JU did not have that academic profile, but you could be a big fish in a small pond.”
Though there may be differences in building a program at JU and USF, McCord had no interest in altering the bedrock of her recruiting doctrine after she was hired by Kelly.
“I really believe in the model of student-athlete,” she said. “While that’s changing with money coming into the mix, I will never change my philosophy. If we are in the transfer portal, I want student-athletes to come here and get master’s degrees, not certificates.”
NIL and the ability to freely move from one school to another were not part of college athletics when McCord arrived at JU. Not that she has a problem with the former, and has utilized the latter, albeit selectively.
“Can you make money doing something that sets you up for your career?” she said. “That should be the point of emphasis.”
USF has resources such as its Enhancing U initiative and NIL leadership that assist student-athletes in everything from connecting with mentors in the Tampa Bay region’s business communities to tapping into potential financial opportunities.
“This school does it well because of the resources they have put into it,” she said.
As for the portal, a 2024 fall exhibition schedule allowed McCord and her staff of husband Paul McCord, former Stanford assistant Brittney Orashen, who played for and coached with the McCords at Jacksonville, and Sharn Muffett, a standout as a youth in Australia prior to a collegiate career at JU and Queens University of Charlotte, to acquire a feel for what the roster needed.
“It was a very important time for us because after the exhibition (schedule) we were able to see where the holes were,” she said.
There have been many notable individual accomplishments. Led by the 21 scored by Sofia Chepenik, an ACC all-freshman team member at Clemson in 2023, five Bulls were in double figures in goals. Notre Dame transfer Alison Harbaugh provides valuable leadership while recording 15 points. Toronto native Paige Pagano, who played for McCord at JU, has twice been named the conference’s goalie of the week.
Seemingly the entire roster contributed to a 20-4 win over visiting Xavier on March 9. Indeed, there were 11 different goal scorers, including four who recorded their first career goals. Such games add to the many good vibes the program has provided in its early stages.
“Mindy, her team and her staff have been great ambassadors for the sport and you couldn’t ask for more in an inaugural year,” said Kelly. “Everyone is learning about one another, but we have played well and have been very competitive in every game so far. I am looking forward to getting ready for the conference season.”
CONTINUE READING
“That’s what I like to look at as a coach, what people think,” she said. “The game inside the game. When I am watching a sport, I am like, ‘I wonder what he is thinking there.’” McCord, who was hired in May 2022 to build the program at USF following an 11-year stint at Jacksonville University, where she built a program that appeared in eight NCAA tournaments on her watch, appreciates the feedback. “I think people identify with what I am writing about,” she said. “Even parents would tell me that they did not see something (during a game) and would ask what I was thinking at that moment. It is another way to connect.”
Key Piece For USF Athletics
Whether it is McCord at the keyboard or the Bulls’ postgame engagement with fans, such connectivity goes a long way toward helping build a fanbase. It has also provided a dose of additional energy to the athletic community. There have been multiple instances when baseball and softball, which share a complex with adjacent fields, and lacrosse played at the same time and literally across the street from each other. Fans could take in good chunks of all three games with very little effort. “At a lot of big schools, you have to drive from one athletics facility to another,” said McCord. “The way this district is set up, it creates a lot of symmetry between events. Everything is in walking distance. The layout of athletics creates community.” A rendering of an on-campus football and lacrosse stadium at the University of South Florida. That layout will expand considerably with an on-campus stadium scheduled to open for business in time for the 2027 football season. A groundbreaking ceremony took place in November for a 35,000-seat venue with an expected cost of $340 million. The facility will also host lacrosse, which by that time could be on its way to being a solid revenue generator thanks in no small part to amenities – the Bulls currently play at Corbett Stadium, a soccer complex with 1,000 seats and grassy berms on three sides – the new venue will provide. Not to mention the larger picture of potentially hosting conference championships and other lacrosse events that would further expand the sport’s exposure in the Tampa Bay region as well as that of the USF brand. “It is hard to imagine how big it can be, but if we can at least get to being a leader in the American Conference and a leader in the country (in attendance), a new facility will be that much nicer with amenities for our fans and have the bells and whistles of sponsorships,” said athletic director Michael Kelly, who on the evening of Feb. 7 witnessed 2,386 occupy most every available space at Corbett Stadium for the Bulls’ inaugural game , a 19-6 win over Kennesaw State. The attendance figure was a regular season record for women’s lacrosse in the state of Florida, which will have 21 universities and colleges sponsoring women’s teams in either the NCAA or NAIA when Florida State is added to the mix next year. FSU will be the fifth program at the Division-I level joining USF, Florida, Stetson and Jacksonville. “When you have an opportunity to build a program and you find a niche with a sport that is growing in a great and growing market like Tampa where we are the only Division-I school that can bring more eyes to (lacrosse), I think it is really a great opportunity,” said Kelly, who was the chief operating office of the College Football Playoff prior to accepting his current post in 2018. “We didn’t do it necessarily with the anticipation to create great revenue immediately, but we are looking for a blue ocean (strategy) where there is less competition and one that we could do really well with, especially when hiring and investing in a coach like Mindy to build it and build it well from the ground up.”It is that level of commitment and dedication by Kelly and the university’s administration, including, but not limited to, outgoing president Rhea Law and Will Weatherford, chair of the board of trustees, that appealed to McCord.
“The school wants lacrosse to be a revenue driver,” said the Maryland native and graduate of Lynchburg (Va.) College. “They want to bring people to the game and want to bring fans to the game and be loyal fans of this team.”
Different Schools, Different Times
The enrollment at private Jacksonville University as of fall 2024 was a little more than 4,200. At USF, a state school, there were virtually the same number of students in the College of Public Health, and nearly 50,000 total.“At JU, lacrosse became like the football of sports,” said McCord. “Men’s and women’s lacrosse became the priority sport, which was great and why I considered not leaving. We had everything we wanted. The student experience (at USF) is different because it is a large state school with football, and I think a lot of kids are attracted to the feel of a bigger school.”
McCord had to be creative when it came to recruiting at JU. Nursing was, and continues to be, a top undergraduate program and was a considerable piece of her recruitment puzzle. Academics is key as well at USF, which in 2023 joined the Association of American Universities (AAU), an elite group of leading research institutions.
“I was able to target market who in the club programs wanted to go with nursing and were also the best players,” said McCord. “With some, I probably did not have any business from a talent perspective of getting them, but I was able to leverage that niche as a major. (At USF), it is broader. Do you want an undergrad and a master’s degree at an AAU school? JU did not have that academic profile, but you could be a big fish in a small pond.”
Though there may be differences in building a program at JU and USF, McCord had no interest in altering the bedrock of her recruiting doctrine after she was hired by Kelly.
“I really believe in the model of student-athlete,” she said. “While that’s changing with money coming into the mix, I will never change my philosophy. If we are in the transfer portal, I want student-athletes to come here and get master’s degrees, not certificates.”
NIL and the ability to freely move from one school to another were not part of college athletics when McCord arrived at JU. Not that she has a problem with the former, and has utilized the latter, albeit selectively.
“Can you make money doing something that sets you up for your career?” she said. “That should be the point of emphasis.”
USF has resources such as its Enhancing U initiative and NIL leadership that assist student-athletes in everything from connecting with mentors in the Tampa Bay region’s business communities to tapping into potential financial opportunities.
“This school does it well because of the resources they have put into it,” she said.
As for the portal, a 2024 fall exhibition schedule allowed McCord and her staff of husband Paul McCord, former Stanford assistant Brittney Orashen, who played for and coached with the McCords at Jacksonville, and Sharn Muffett, a standout as a youth in Australia prior to a collegiate career at JU and Queens University of Charlotte, to acquire a feel for what the roster needed.
“It was a very important time for us because after the exhibition (schedule) we were able to see where the holes were,” she said.
So Far, So Good
There have not been many holes in the Bulls’ play through the non-conference schedule, which will yield to conference play beginning March 15 against visiting Temple. They won five of the first seven matchups with the two losses against what was No. 5 Florida (18-11) and by a goal (14-13) to Towson, which advanced to the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) championship game in 2023.There have been many notable individual accomplishments. Led by the 21 scored by Sofia Chepenik, an ACC all-freshman team member at Clemson in 2023, five Bulls were in double figures in goals. Notre Dame transfer Alison Harbaugh provides valuable leadership while recording 15 points. Toronto native Paige Pagano, who played for McCord at JU, has twice been named the conference’s goalie of the week.
Seemingly the entire roster contributed to a 20-4 win over visiting Xavier on March 9. Indeed, there were 11 different goal scorers, including four who recorded their first career goals. Such games add to the many good vibes the program has provided in its early stages.
“Mindy, her team and her staff have been great ambassadors for the sport and you couldn’t ask for more in an inaugural year,” said Kelly. “Everyone is learning about one another, but we have played well and have been very competitive in every game so far. I am looking forward to getting ready for the conference season.”
