TAMPA — While other beachgoers in Ocean City, Md., were tossing a football or throwing a Frisbee, a young Michael Kelly brought his lacrosse stick and did some catching and throwing in the sand.

On multiple occasions in the 1990s, the Maryland native attended the NCAA men’s and women’s lacrosse championships at Byrd Stadium, now known as Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium, on Memorial Day weekends.

The sport became part of Kelly’s career while serving as senior associate commissioner at the ACC, where he oversaw broadcasting and communications. He also served as media coordinator for a couple of the men’s and women’s conference tournaments.

“I saw the sport at a very high level in the ACC,” Kelly said. “I am not an expert on the sport, but I am a fan and have an appreciation for the sport.”

When the athletic director at the University of South Florida was looking to add to his department’s inventory of programs, Kelly felt the addition of women’s lacrosse would be a perfect fit given the sport’s growth in the Sunshine State.

Furthermore, led by basketball, soccer and softball, USF has experienced much success with its women’s programs. The university and athletic department wanted to ride that wave of momentum by adding lacrosse, which will take the field for the 2023-24 academic year.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to not only provide a great sport, a growing sport for women, but also I anticipate being very successful very quickly,” said Kelly, who assumed his current position at USF in the summer of 2018 and recently had his contract extended through 2028. “That is not only because of the students here in Florida, but it is pretty attractive for a young lady [living in the sport’s hotbed regions of New England and the Mid-Atlantic] to come play lacrosse at USF.”

Not surprisingly, since the university announced on November 10 that it was adding the sport, the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, including from prospective coaches and student-athletes.

“Since we announced the addition of the sport, we have frequently heard from folks interested in coaching,” Kelly said. “Also, a lot of high school players that desire to play at the Division I level are seeing that there is a new program coming up, and they are kind of hoping it meshes with their academic plans.”

Announcing a new program is an exciting thing for an athletic department and university. It is also exciting for the coaches, staff and student-athletes that become part of something groundbreaking.

“There are a lot of people that would like to be involved with building something, being a part of something new,” Kelly said. “I think there is always some intrigue for a student-athlete to say, ‘Wow, I want to be a part of that first class of players.’”

The first bit of business will be to hire a coach, which Kelly wants to have in place by July 1. Kris Pierce, who arrived at USF to serve in the newly created role of deputy athletic director for administration/chief of staff, spent nearly two decades at the ACC, including being the head administrator over men’s and women’s lacrosse.

“I am sure she will be very helpful in our development of the program and identification of a great coach,” Kelly said.

USF is a member of the American Athletic Conference, which has six women’s lacrosse programs, including full-fledged conference members Cincinnati, Temple and East Carolina. (Cincinnati will be joining the Big 12 no later than July 2024 but could remain in the American for lacrosse since the Big 12 does not sponsor the sport.) The conference also features affiliate members Florida, Vanderbilt and Old Dominion.

Florida has experienced plenty of success since beginning play in 2010, including appearing in 10 straight NCAA tournaments and a landmark win at top-ranked Maryland in 2020. The Gators do not, however, have an in-state conference opponent. There are only two other Division-I women’s lacrosse programs in the state, Stetson and Jacksonville, both of which have been part of Florida’s non-conference schedule.

“Let me tell you, USF will be a welcome addition to our schedule, and I am looking forward to that,” said Florida coach Amanda O’Leary, who arrived in Gainesville to launch the program in 2007 after spending 14 years as the women’s lacrosse head coach at Yale. “The sport is blossoming here in the state of Florida, and you see growth with that every single day. There are a lot of young ladies playing lacrosse in the state, and to have another opportunity for them to stay in state is really a win-win for everybody.”

It will be a win-win scenario for the young ladies who choose to attend USF and be part of the program’s launch. After all, who wouldn’t want to train, practice and play year-round in the warmth of Tampa?

“It’s really quite comfortable in Tampa right now,” said Kelly, motioning outside his office window, on the other side of which was a 75-degree and sunny January afternoon.