“We [Pitt Athletics] are the front porch, and we are the largest marketing arm for the institution,” athletics director Allen Greene said.
At the University of Pittsburgh, no program better serves as this front porch than volleyball.
Luckily for the program and University, Charissa Coleman is a Panther. She serves as an assistant director of communications and the lead media contact for Pitt volleyball. And with Coleman at the helm, the University of Pittsburgh will remain a “volleyball school.”
Pitt could not ask for better ambassadors of the University than volleyball. The University loves to tout its beloved volleyball program with a multitude of ESPN appearances and on billboards across the country.
Only a few years ago, the notion of mentioning a non-revenue volleyball program in the same sentence as basketball or football seemed outlandish. Now, many fans refer to Pitt as a “volleyball school.” So, how did the program achieve these heights?
No matter how successful, all teams need promotion. Pitt’s success on social media translates to success on the court – essential to the program.
The more views a post receives, the more fans fill the seats and the more support the program gets. Without an equally adept media team, the Panthers very well could have missed the boat on the skyrocketing popularity of women’s volleyball.
Although the vast majority of fans remain unaware of her importance, Coleman’s addition to the team made an instant impact — similar to landing a blue chip transfer.
“[Coleman] just wants to get eyes on this team because they deserve it,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Abby Schnable said. “And, you know, just seeing the amount of hours that she puts in, it’s really cool to see it in action because [Coleman] just wants to highlight her sport and student athletes.”
“We respect her and her work, just as one of the players — she makes it super fun,” Graduate student outside hitter Cat Flood said.
Before Coleman, Pitt volleyball still dominated on the court and garnered a solid foundation of fans. But the team’s popularity slacked behind their truly elite product.
From 2019 to 2022, the program attendance record remained at 5,195. Despite making great strides on the court during these years with three Elite Eight and two Final Four appearances, the attendance record remained untouched.
Coleman never envisioned herself traveling north for work. But, luckily for the Panthers, that’s exactly where her competitive spirit and love of volleyball took her.
Coleman grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, and about an hour away from a small division one school called Gardner-Webb. There, she played four successful seasons as one of the Bulldog’s defensive specialists — twice leading the squad in digs. While at Gardner-Webb, Coleman witnessed the responsibilities of the communications team – seeing an opportunity to stay involved with athletics.
“And that’s kind of where I first heard about sports information,” Coleman said. “I saw people behind the scenes running social media, or doing stuff with a website – it looked fun. I wanted to stay involved in sports, even as my eligibility ran up, so I started to work in their department.”
Coleman continued trying to get her foot in the door, working as an intern at Gardner-Webb. Her next stop was fellow ACC school, Clemson. As a Tiger, Coleman served as the primary media contact for women’s soccer, men’s tennis and rowing while helping to establish the gymnastics program.
When Pitt’s position became available, Coleman’s coworker told her about it — aware of her enthusiasm for volleyball. Yet, she initially remained uncertain about applying.
“I am not close to here,” Coleman said. “I’m a southern girl, I never really envisioned myself ending up north. So I was like, ‘no, no. Like, I don’t want to move that far away.’ I always lived in the southeast, close to family. But I was like, ‘you know what, the worst thing I could do is I apply and see where things go.’”
But, Coleman’s love of volleyball and the opportunity to join an emerging powerhouse won her over.
“As a volleyball player in college, I loved the sport, and I played it since I was 11,” Coleman said. “And obviously, as an athlete, you want to be the best. And Pitt has just taken off the last five years at an almost unheard of rate, and I watched Pitt on TV for a long time in tournaments— playing in the Elite Eights and Final Fours. And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’d be so much fun to work with a team like that.’”
Upon arrival, Pitt’s staff instantly impressed Coleman, helping her feel at home when, in reality, she was hundreds of miles away.
“I was surprised when I got here of how much they made me feel like a part of the family, as someone on support staff,” Coleman said. “So you never know, every team is different, on how much they buy in and bring in support staff to be part of the team. They literally see me as part of their team. And so it’s been just so fun to be a part of.”
Additionally, her time as a player immediately endeared her to the team, giving her experience from their shoes.
“It really helps that she’s close to us in age, and she has lived our lives, so she understands, like, what we want on media and what we don’t want on media,” Flood said. “And she’s just extremely adaptable. She’s always happy. It’s so easy to have her on the team. She just fits in really well with exactly what we need”.
In her first season, 2023-24, the program’s social media presence surged by 30.23%. Her online efforts paid immediate dividends, as Coleman utilized social media to crush the previous attendance record as 8,865 fans packed the Petersen Center against Louisville.
“[Pitt volleyball is] constantly striving for more,” Coleman said. “And then a Final Four isn’t good enough. And for a lot of people, it’s like, ‘oh my gosh, you reached a Final Four.’ And yeah, of course, it’s a humongous accomplishment, just like an ACC championship. It doesn’t come by every day, but they’re busy chasing excellence every day. And so I love being a part of that.”
Just like the team on the court, Coleman continued to improve in her second season as the program set another attendance record of 11,800 fans, good for a sellout of the Petersen Events Center.
With more success came more pressure, scrutiny and difficult work to do, but Coleman had the Panthers more than up to the task.
“And so the better you are, I think the more requests you get, the busier you are, the more you travel,” Coleman said. “And so I feel like, as a student athlete, and my time at Clemson, I was so prepared to take that on in my second year, especially with the rate that our popularity was growing.”
“The craziest weekend we had was, I think, when we were playing Louisville on a Friday night,” Flood said. “We had all of our crews. It was alumni weekend, and then we had ESPN there. It may not have gone as smoothly as we had understood, but to the girls, she only asked us to do, like, a few interviews or take some pictures, but it was super seamless, and everything ended up turning out great. I just think that she impresses me with how organized she is as someone who is still in her late 20s.”
Even with rapidly increasing work to do, Coleman still emphasizes the little fun moments — understanding the value of personifying the team.
“It’s various nicknames, or calling each other bro, or whatever it is,” Schnable said. “It’s also something she prioritizes. I’ve seen her to-do list before, and on her to-do list has things like, you know, oh, don’t forget this post that’s about this inside joke. And I just think that’s fun because one of the best ways to get people to connect with the team is to show them their personality”.
“She’s so goofy, she’s one of those people who’s always joyful, always giggling and she’s not afraid to get personal or draw up something that’s more meaningful for us, something that our team really values as our culture,” Flood said.
At the end of the day, those surrounding the program aren’t just confident in Coleman’s accolades and dedication. They recognize the genuine love she brings to everyone in the program — transforming Pitt into a “volleyball school.”
“She’s so engaged with us, “Flood said .”She really wants to spend time with us – I know she really cares for us and I think that helps with us having such a great brand. Pitt volleyball has such a good brand, such a good image, because of her, and I think that makes us super special.”
When Pitt volleyball won the 2024 ACC championship Coleman was a champion too, carrying the trophy before a match.
“The [ACC Championship] trophy is as big as her, taking up her entire torso,” Schnable said. “And I called out to her. I was like, ‘Hey, turn around.’ I took her picture of her with this giant-looking trophy because that’s just one of those moments where you see the joy of someone who’s in the trenches and purely loves her job”.