Sarah Tisdale Named Inaugural Florida State Women's Coach

Florida State University named Sarah Tisdale its inaugural women's lacrosse coach on Monday, tabbing a program-building coach to helm the growth of FSU.

Tisdale, who started the Eastern Michigan program and leaves EMU after two seasons, also started programs at Central Michigan and Augustana.

"This is an exciting time for Florida State athletics as we welcome Sara Tisdale to lead the launch of our intercollegiate women's lacrosse team," director of athletics Michael Alford said. "She brings a wealth of experience in establishing programs and has experienced early and sustained success everywhere she's been. Coach Tisdale's focus on developing an incredible culture within her programs was evident to me during our time together at Central Michigan and reinforced through the hiring process."

Florida State will play its first games in the 2026 spring season.

Continue below to see the full announcement from Florida State.

FSU ANNOUNCEMENT

TALLAHASSEE — Sara Tisdale, an experienced developer of programs and proven winner, has been hired as Florida State's inaugural women's lacrosse head coach, Vice President and Director of Athletics Michael Alford announced Monday.

"This is an exciting time for Florida State athletics as we welcome Sara Tisdale to lead the launch of our intercollegiate women's lacrosse team," Alford said. "She brings a wealth of experience in establishing programs and has experienced early and sustained success everywhere she's been. Coach Tisdale's focus on developing an incredible culture within her programs was evident to me during our time together at Central Michigan and reinforced through the hiring process. Her teams win on the field and prioritize academics. She will fit right in with the standard of comprehensive excellence here, and I'm very excited to welcome Sara, Becca and Emma to the Florida State family."

Tisdale, who coached the first lacrosse games at Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan and Augustana, comes to Tallahassee to establish FSU's lacrosse program after two seasons at Eastern Michigan.

Tisdale is 114-86 in her 12-year career and has won four regular-season conference championships and three conference tournament titles. She has coached 34 all-conference selections, three Offensive Players of the Year, one Defensive Player of the Year and three Freshman of the Year honorees. In addition to their success on the field, Tisdale's teams have been honored nine consecutive times with the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Association Honor Squad recognition for their work in the classroom and produced 118 individual academic all-conference selections.

"I am humbled and honored to join the Florida State family as the first head women's lacrosse coach," Tisdale said. "I would like to thank Michael Alford and Dr. McCullough for this incredible opportunity. Building a women's lacrosse program at one of the most revered athletic and academic institutions in the country will attract elite lacrosse student-athletes to Tallahassee. The minute I stepped foot on campus it was obvious that everyone is invested in the success of Seminole student-athletes and the programs they are part of. Building Florida State lacrosse into a championship-caliber program with a culture that upholds a high standard in the classroom, on the field and in the community will be the immediate goal, and I cannot wait to get to work!"

The 2024 Eagles led the MAC in scoring offense, averaging 11.0 goals per game, and also led the conference in points per game, shots on goal per game, ground balls per game, draw control percentage and draws per game. EMU had the conference's Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year while placing three on the all-conference team and two on the All-Freshman Team. Tisdale's 2024 squad posted a five-win improvement from the program's inaugural 2023 season, ending the season tied for the highest winning percentage among MAC teams, and played in the semifinal round of the conference tournament.

Tisdale joined Eastern Michigan after starting the women's lacrosse program at Central Michigan, where she coached for seven seasons and directed the Chippewas to 54 wins, two conference championships and the 2022 MAC Tournament title that earned CMU's first NCAA Tournament berth in program history.

The 2022 team won a program-record 12 games and shared the regular-season conference championship before its conference tournament run. In 2021, CMU's first season in the MAC, the Chippewas' nine wins included a victory over Oregon. Tisdale oversaw the development of the MAC Offensive Player of the Year in both 2021 and 2022 as Natalie Karlen earned the honor in 2021 and Audrey Whiteside followed in 2022.

In 2019, Central Michigan set program records for goals, points, shots, shots on goal, draw controls and saves. Jocelyn Lamay was named the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year, the program's first such honoree. In 2018, the Chippewas brought home the program's first conference championship by posting a 4-1 SoCon mark during a season that included a program-record six-game winning streak.

Tisdale became the head coach at Central Michigan in the summer of 2014 and began preparations for the first season of competition in 2016. Prior to CMU, she was hired in 2010 to develop the program at Augustana College in Illinois.

In three seasons at Augustana, Tisdale boasted a 51-8 record, including a dominant showing in 2014. That year, the Vikings won their first 19 games and led all Division III schools in scoring margin and total points. Augustana won the Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference regular-season and tournament championships for the second straight season and advanced to the third round of the Division III NCAA Tournament. Tisdale was named the MWLC and Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year. The 2013 team swept the MWLC regular-season and tournament titles in its second year as a program and first as an MWLC member. Tisdale's first team in 2012 put together a 15-3 campaign while playing as an Independent.

Tisdale earned her bachelor's degree in education from Central Michigan in 2006. She and her wife, Becca, have one daughter, Emma.

The Florida State women's lacrosse program will play its first season of NCAA competition in the spring of 2026.