2023-09-26 17:05:30
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Melissa Meager has been passionate about the sport of lacrosse since the day her mother took away her softball mitt in junior high and handed her a lacrosse stick. She was told to go outside and play with her brothers.
“At first, they were determined not to play with me and told me this was a men’s game,” Meager recalled. “My mother had to come out and force them to play with me. They immediately realized the fastest way to get rid of me was to throw the ball as hard as they possibly could at me. The silver lining was that, despite multiple bumps and bruises, I learned how to catch a ball any which way it was coming to me.”
So began a lifelong love of lacrosse for Meager – one that would eventually connect her to Carolina’s women’s lacrosse team and a gift in support of the program.
She played lacrosse in junior high before attending Taft, a prep school in Connecticut. She was part of the first class of girls to attend Taft who, perhaps unsurprisingly, did not have athletic programs prepared for the girls when Meager and her classmates arrived on campus.
“I was shocked,” Meager said about the lack of structured athletic programs for the girls at Taft. “I was in a constant back and forth with the athletic director who had not counted on using his budget to support girls’ sports. I was asking for the most basic resources to get us up and running with lacrosse, field hockey, etc. During this time, I used to hang around a young assistant director of admissions who used to tell me funny lacrosse stories from his days as a Tar Heel. I eventually talked Ferdie Wandelt into agreeing to coach us.”
That was the beginning of girls’ lacrosse at Taft. The program has thrived for over 50 years.
Graduating from Taft in 1974, Meager would have absolutely continued her lacrosse career in college. However, in the early days of Title IX, the infrastructure for women’s lacrosse was nowhere near where it is today.
“There was no structure or vision in place to do the kinds of things that all these young lacrosse players do today with the opportunities that they have. I have always nurtured a fantasy of being recruited to a Division I program. I would have loved that option in 1974 but instead I went off to university and focused exclusively on my studies.”
After graduating from Tufts University Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor of arts in international studies, Meager had an opportunity to try out for the U.S. National Team and was offered a position on the roster. However, due to a lack of a professional lacrosse future back then, she headed to New York instead to begin a long and successful career on Wall Street. Her lacrosse career was over … or so she thought.
A Chance Encounter
In 2020, members of the women’s lacrosse program at Carolina, including head coach Jenny Levy and then-Director of Development Kara Cannizzaro, were participating in an annual 5k walk in honor of a late women’s lacrosse letter winner, Kellie Thompson Shiley, who passed away during childbirth. Decked out in their lacrosse gear, they literally ran into a very inquisitive Meager on a trail behind Carr Mill Mall in Carrboro.
Cannizzaro and Meager struck up a conversation, and eventually the connection was made that Meager had played lacrosse at Taft – where Levy’s son Ryan was attending and playing lacrosse that upcoming fall.
“What were the odds of that happening?” Meager recalled. “Kara and some of the players asked what I did after college, and I said I went to Wall Street. Kara asked me if I would be willing to come talk to the team about my career path. I said of course, thinking privately that I would be happy to carry the players’ water bottles around. I was just so excited to reconnect with the sport.
“I subsequently met with Jenny and Kara for several coffees to learn about the program and each other,” she shared. “Both Jenny and Kara have such a wonderful spirit of generosity and kindness. Becoming a fan and friend and eventually a donor just happened so organically.”
Meager knew that supporting a program like women’s lacrosse with a significant gift would have an effect not just on her personally but could positively influence the impressive young women who come through the program for years to come. Meager’s generosity toward and impact on the team are not lost on Cannizzaro and Levy either.
“It’s a natural progression, really,” said Levy. “Melissa is a life-long learner, and she has wanted to learn about the game as it is played today.”
“I think being able to have a place within our program and identifying with what Jenny has built and the athletes that have come through our program, it was really easy for Melissa to be accepted within our program,” Cannizzaro said. “The girls love her. She gives us amazing advice. Everybody is excited for her to be part of our foundation. They love seeing her at practice and games. It is just really a connection piece that she has with our players and Jenny.”
“I think the coolest part to me is to have a supporter, friend, and donor like Melissa who is female,” Levy continued. “For someone I consider very much a pioneering woman in all ways, both in business and sport, for her to be able to see the fruits of her labor without even knowing the impact that she has on us, specifically with Title IX and gender equity and opportunity for women, is a really cool story.”
Meager explained, “Ordinarily I prefer to keep a low profile when it comes to donations to the team. However, because of both the size of this particular gift and its fundamental objective – to encourage women to actively support other women through their own philanthropic endeavors – I felt it was time to come out of the shadows and explain who I am and why I am doing what I am doing. I want my lifelong passion for lacrosse to serve a larger purpose to help this very important sports program continue to pursue excellence through the sport of lacrosse. These additional financial resources will facilitate what Jenny and her coaching staff do every day with their players – pursue excellence in all areas of their lives rather than accept mediocrity. I trust that this will resonate with these young players, and they will continue to strive for excellence throughout their lives.”
A Culture of Engagement and Excellence
With no “typical” ties to the University, it might seem unique that Meager has become so attached to Carolina women’s lacrosse. For Levy and her staff, though, that’s part of the culture that they are trying to continually build in Chapel Hill.
“It’s funny. Lacrosse is such a small sport, but I feel like when you’re open to people and want to be nice and kind, which I think is so much the Carolina way, you will then have these chance encounters and an opportunity to meet somebody that maybe you can influence in a positive way,” Levy said. “Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this relationship would take the journey that it has taken over the past couple of years. But I think when you have good intentions, success and a tradition of excellence, I do think people want to be involved with that.”
“We want to be a program that welcomes everybody and accepts them for who they are and allow them to thrive under one umbrella,” Cannizzaro added. “I think that is exactly what we’ve done. Melissa’s amazing. She’s competitive. She’s smart. She’s intentional. She’s charismatic. She’s caring. I think it was easy for her to find people like that in our program. We’re a program that is going to welcome everybody, celebrate you and want you to be the best version of yourself. I think that just really aligned with who Melissa is, and it’s amazing to see her grow within our program.”
While she may not be “Tar Heel born,” Meager is embracing all aspects of being “Tar Heel bred” – even if it’s a little later in life than other Tar Heels.
“I moved from the northeast 14 years ago and felt a little bit like a fish out of water,” Meager shared. “I didn’t go to Carolina – although I had heard great things about it. I know I am not technically an official Tar Heel, although the team has told me I am their biggest Tar Heel fan.”
It is the mindset shared by Meager and the women’s lacrosse program that made her want to support their pursuits. “I have so much admiration and respect for everything that Jenny, Kara, and their associates have built here. I love Carolina and I love how collegial everyone is on campus. Honestly, I have liked every Carolina kid I have met. For me, this is all icing on the cake. My affiliation with the program came so unexpectedly and was not planned out or manipulated. It just evolved very naturally.”
While Meager has provided financial support for Carolina’s women’s lacrosse, she maintains that nothing could match what the program has given her.
“Jenny, Kara and the team have shared with me the opportunity and experience to be part of a nationally successful D1 lacrosse program. It’s a lifelong dream come true. I’m pinching myself all the time.”
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