Jenny Levy built the UNC women’s lacrosse program from scratch to win 3 national titles

UNC women’s lacrosse head coach Jenny Levy won a national championship as a player, but it took her 18 years to win her first as a head coach.

Now, she’s coming off of her third NCAA National Championship — with an undefeated 22-0 season — and a gold medal for Team USA in the 2022 World Championships. She has the third most career wins in NCAA Division I history, and was named National Coach of the Year for the third time by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association.

There’s a reason UNC’s only women’s lacrosse head coach has been inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

But that wasn’t always the case for Levy. While successful, her team would make it to the Final Four but couldn’t get over the hump to go to the championship. Former UNC men’s basketball coach Roy Williams, who had won his share of national championships, became Levy’s mentor. He let her observe his team’s practices, which led her to restructure some aspects of the women’s lacrosse program to break through to the next level.

After a 2012 NCAA Tournament quarterfinal loss against Syracuse, Levy took the defeat hard. “When our team wins, it’s 100 percent the players, but the losses are on the coach; it’s on me,” she says.

Williams reminded her that it’s hard for to enter that top 1% of elite teams, and how it’s not possible to hit on that level every time. Though Levy experienced a period of self-doubt, Williams helped remind her to trust in her work, to trust in herself.

The next year, UNC, and Levy, won their first title, defeating Maryland in triple overtime. The program added another national championship in 2016 before going undefeated throughout the 2022 season.

For her role in building the women’s lacrosse program from scratch, elevating the team to a national spotlight, and her efforts to connect her players with the community, Levy is The News & Observer’s Tar Heel of the Month, which honors people who have made significant contributions to North Carolina and the region.

A passion for the sport

Levy was born in Baltimore. Though girl’s lacrosse wasn’t available until she was in sixth grade, Maryland is a hotbed for lacrosse. She continued her passion for the sport as a player at the University of Virginia.

The four-time national champion was a prolific player during her four years as a Cavalier, where she became a two-time first-team All-American and the 1992 NCAA Attacker of the Year.

When she graduated from Virginia in 1992 as a communications major, she looked at jobs in marketing and development events, but struggled to find a job. Levy decided to take a part-time job at Georgetown University as a lacrosse coach before taking a full-time position in the spring of 1994.

When she interviewed to become the first head coach of the women’s lacrosse program, she described herself as the “underdog” due to her youth and lack of coaching experience. Though just 24 at the time of her hiring in 1994, Levy had a vision for where she wanted to take the program.

“Carolina had so much success in many other sports at the highest level with soccer, field hockey, men’s lacrosse, and basketball,” Levy said. “I didn’t think that there wouldn’t be any reason why our lacrosse program couldn’t reach that level as well.”

Levy talked to The N&O about her career and the lessons she learned on her way to the top of the lacrosse world. Here are excerpts from our conversation.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

“I thought I was going to get into something in the medical profession, actually. I have always wanted to be able to help people. Now I’m just helping people in a different way.”

How do you see your role in your community?

“Our players are so involved and make people happy with their ability to influence others. Whether they’re walking through an airport and get stopped because they’ve got Carolina lacrosse gear on, we get a lot of requests for different types of community outreach, things that we’re involved in.

“Whether it’s the hospital, GiGi’s playhouse, DesiStrong foundation or military appreciation, I think the people want to be recognized and associated with our team and our players.”

What is the achievement you’re most proud of?

“We pride ourselves on a relationship-based program where we create a great culture. Now that I’m starting my 28th year at Carolina, what makes me the proudest is to see all the different alums come back and the friendships that they built while they were student-athletes at North Carolina.

“The day-to-day of putting together a team year in and year out, when you can end the season with a championship; that’s rewarding to see student-athletes fulfill a dream. It’s something that will impact the rest of their lives. When I go six feet under, I think those will be the highlights that I hope will be carried on.”

What does leadership mean to you?

“It means trying to help individuals and a team reach their full potential and maybe do something they never thought they could do. I think it’s about empowering others to find the best versions of themselves, individually and collectively.”

Who is your role model or inspiration?

“I think [UNC women’s soccer coach] Anson Dorrance has been helpful. I just love how he runs his program. I love that he’s constantly trying to teach and trying to better the human, not just the athlete. He’s been a big influence in my coaching career, and I can’t think of anybody better.

“Roy Williams was a huge influence, as well. You know, once Roy came on to campus, he’s been a big mentor for me. Coaching and leadership can be very lonely. At the highest level you put a lot of pressure on yourself to help your team be the best that they can be. Coaches like Roy understand that and know that it’s not easy to win, but also, when they win, they have great humility and great relationships with their players. He’s a disciple of Dean Smith, and Anson learned from Dean. I learned from Anson, so we all kind of complete the circle.”

What is a turning point in your life that helped define where you are today?

“I think going through adversity and challenges [2012 NCAA Quarterfinal lost against Syracuse], a cliche that’s used many times. When you hit adversity and challenge, it creates even more focus and attention to detail.

“It took me 18 years to finally win a national championship; that’s a long time. You have to define success in different ways, and we have. It’s not just about winning here; it’s the relationships. I do think struggle and challenges really bring out your best.”

Looking back on where you’ve come, what would you say to your younger self?

“I would say invest in the relationships sooner. It’s hard to do when you’re young because that boundary gets a little gray. When you’re 24 years old, and your players are 21 years old, that’s hard. Be confident in who you are, invest in your relationships, and don’t apologize. Be unapologetically you.”

Get to know Jenny Levy

Last book you read? “I’m reading ‘Ordinary Men’ by Christopher Browning. That has to do with World War II and the Nazis. And I’m also reading a book about Nike’s creative side called ‘Emotion by Design’ by Greg Kaufman. The last book I’m reading is called ‘The Sisterhood: The 99ers and The Rise of U.S. Women’s Soccer.’”

Favorite movie? “‘Remember the Titans’ for me. It just has so many great elements in it for coaching.”

Favorite song or musical artist? “I really liked the Grateful Dead. I like the Eagles, Grateful Dead and Journey. I like all of the current stuff, too, so I can also swing like the Taylor Swift direction and some rap, some Jay-Z.

Which famous person (living or dead) would you invite to dinner and why? “On the sports side, I would say Serena Williams or Billie Jean King.

“I’m fascinated by Abraham Lincoln and his leadership. He was a leader that was in the trenches and of common folk. I find leadership really interesting during hard times.”

What do you remember most about your childhood? “When I got home from school, I could not wait to change and get outside and play in the neighborhood. I was the only girl in my neighborhood, and the name of my neighborhood in town was called ‘The Neighborhood’ because everybody would flock there to play sports, and we played everything with all boys.

“I just could not wait to get outside and play ball. Any game, any time, anywhere.”

What were you like in high school? “I would say I’ve always had a lot of energy. I was very outgoing and wanted to be involved in a lot of different things. I had a lot of different friends and friend groups.”

Favorite quote: “The Man in the Arena” by Theodore Roosevelt.

A perfect day: “I usually like to get up and get exercise. I either run, bike or do a yoga class. If my morning routine doesn’t take me outside, something hopefully in the afternoon will take me outside.

“I like to be at practice and around my team if my team is on campus. I love being around them. I like to get a good game of pickleball at the end of the day and then cook at my house. We like to cook, eat and relax on the deck.”

This story was originally published August 25, 2022 at 5:45 AM with the headline "Jenny Levy built the UNC women’s lacrosse program from scratch to win 3 national titles."