Clemson named Allison Kwolek the head coach of the newly formed women’s lacrosse program on Aug. 2 and tasked her with the challenge of building a program in less than two years.
The Tigers will take the field in their first-ever NCAA sanctioned lacrosse game in the spring of 2023.
While 18 months may seem distant for most, the date looms on Kwolek’s calendar. But she’s excited to build a program from scratch as a Tiger, and the young head coach wakes up every day living the dream at Clemson.
“Being here has been a lot of, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe they do that here’ in all the really good ways,” Kwolek told The Clemson Insider. “Seeing the support and resources that are not only important for student-athletes but students in general.
“You can just tell that everybody really does bleed orange, and it’s just been nice and really fun to be in this atmosphere. Clemson is just really unique. I have to pinch myself that I’m really down here.”
Kwolek accepted the job this summer after seven seasons as the head coach at Richmond. She led the Spiders to a 64-16 record in seven seasons, including two regular-season Atlantic-10 championships in her last five seasons.
The program also found its way into the top 10 in her last two seasons and made the NCAA Tournament in two of the last three seasons.
As a young coach, Kwolek never pictured herself starting a program from scratch much less in the premier athletic conference for the sport. But Kwolek expressed just how thankful she is for this historic opportunity.
“When I look back at when I started coaching, to imagine myself at Clemson building a program just wasn’t on the radar because it wasn’t happening at that point,” Kwolek said. “But I feel really fortunate that I’m in this position and excited to build and get ready for next season.”
Lacrosse is one of the fastest-growing sports worldwide and in recent years spread from the Northeast to the South rapidly. Clemson is the 15th NCAA women’s lacrosse team in South Carolina and joins Coastal Carolina, Furman, Presbyterian College, Winthrop and Wofford as one of six Division I programs.
Kwolek hopes the Clemson community will rally around lacrosse when the program gets its official start in 2023 and says fans will love the fast-paced and unpredictable sport.
“Lacrosse is a fast game with a lot of action and a lot of goals. Even when a team is up by five, six or seven goals, the other team can still win,” she said. “And I think that’s what’s really great about this sport that even when I am watching as a fan or watching other ACC schools, you can never get comfortable with a lead.”
In terms of Kwolek’s progress in building the program, she hopes to announce the hire of her first assistant coach and recruiting coordinator in the coming days and wants to capitalize on recruiting opportunities centered around Clemson football gamedays this fall.
This weekend, Kwolek is focused on her husband, Mark, and daughter, Olivia, who move into the upstate on Friday.
—Photo courtesy of Clemson Athletic Communications
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