Starting in ‘24-25 will allow the staff to recruit for a full cycle of 2023 and 2024 high school graduates.
TAMPA (August 31, 2022) – University of South Florida Vice President for Athletics Michael Kelly and new Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach, Mindy McCord announced on Wednesday that the Bulls’ newest intercollegiate athletics program will start in the 2024-25 academic year.
“During the interview process for hiring our women’s lacrosse head coach, Mindy McCord, we began discussions about the women’s lacrosse recruiting cycle and the timeline for having our first student-athletes on campus,” said Kelly. “Mindy is an expert at starting women’s lacrosse programs, having built the Jacksonville program from the ground up and she knows how to strategically build a roster for sustained success.”
The Bulls’ first women’s lacrosse student-athletes will arrive in fall 2023 and will spend the year training and playing in exhibition matches in their spring season.
The Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) and Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA) pushed back the recruiting calendar in 2017 to create a healthier recruiting process, changing the recruiting landscape for women’s and men’s lacrosse. Prospects cannot be contacted before Sept. 1 of their junior year. By starting the program in 2024-25, the coaching staff will be able to recruit for a full cycle of 2023 and 2024 graduates, with the focus on the development of our 2023 high school graduates in the 2023-24 academic year.
“Expertise in building a balanced roster that is focused on sustained success is a key skill for any head coach, especially in sports with a large roster, such as women’s lacrosse,” Kelly said. “The goal of USF has been all along not to simply sponsor women’s lacrosse, but to become regionally and nationally competitive in women’s lacrosse.”
“Having 21 months to build the foundation of this program with two solid classes of recruits while sprinkling in some experienced transfers will provide USF with a solid foundation to build upon,” said McCord.
About USF Athletics
USF Athletics currently sponsors 19 varsity men’s and women’s teams that compete in 11 different sports, 18 at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference, which will expand to 21 teams with the recently announced additions of women’s lacrosse (2024-25) and women’s beach volleyball. The Bulls’ athletic program began in 1965 and completed its 56th season in 2021-22. Nearly 450 student-athletes train and compete in the athletic district located on the east end of the campus in Tampa, Fla. The Bulls have posted a combined annual grade-point average over 3.0 for more than seven straight years and have posted a program-record 15 straight semesters with a combined GPA over 3.0 as of the spring of 2022. USF has had over 500 student-athletes earn their degree since 2016-17. USF has had over 500 student-athletes earn their degree since 2016-17.
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–#GoBulls –
