Madisyn Pezzino admits her college career didn’t go as planned.
But not all was lost.
Originally, Pezzino thought her plan was to continue her career at Florida State, fresh off her illustrious career at Grand Island. Some of the accolades Pezzino received in her career with the Vikings included being named the 2017 Gatorade New York Player of the Year, a three-time all-state selection and walking away with 251 career goals, then the state record.
After a year competing with the Seminoles, Pezzino transferred to Ole Miss, where she continued playing for four years through 2021. But Pezzino’s love for being in sports left her wanting to stay involved after her playing career ended.
What started as a graduate assistant with the Rebels two years ago turned into a full-time position for Pezzino, who enters her second season as the program’s director of analytics and operations. After a career that included logging 2,160 minutes, nine goals and seven assists with the Rebels, Pezzino is excited to serve the program in a different fashion.
“I really want to take my position and my experiences that I had as a college athlete to help players that come through the program,” Pezzino said. “I know I want to be there to help support them in any way that I can and share what I learned and experiences that I went through to help them through their time as a college athlete.”
Pezzino isn’t directly involved in the on-field strategy for the Rebels, even though she helps with collecting data during practice and games to help players visualize their progression. But year-round, and especially when the team is in full operation during the fall and spring seasons, Pezzino is involved in many behind-the-scenes roles at Ole Miss.
As director of operations, Pezzino is responsible for the Rebels’ travel schedule, booking hotels and meal planning for road trips. Plus, for contests, Pezzino is the liaison between the program’s sports information department and Rouse to coordinate halftime interviews, along with checking if all the proper equipment is on the field.
While a graduate assistant with the program two years ago, Pezzino pursued a graduate certificate in intercollegiate athletics. Pezzino completed her degree last year, shortly before applying and accepting the job offer at Ole Miss, along with having familiarity with the role based on interacting with those who held the position while a player.
“Learning the administration side is what a lot of this job has to do as well,” Pezzino said. “I enjoyed taking those courses and that kind of also sparked my interest of wanting to apply for this position. But now, actually being in the spot and really having my hand on a lot of different departments, it’s been really cool to see how it works within athletics at a Division One school.”
Pezzino knows she wants to stay involved in college athletics, due to enjoying the environment. But, in terms of what specific role to chase, Pezzino is keeping her options open.
When she’s not working for Ole Miss, Pezzino coaches youth soccer with the Oxford Football Club. Pezzino is slated to continue coaching as her Oxford FC 2014 Girls Navy team is competing in the Apollo Cup May 18-19 in Alabama.
And while she still enjoys having the opportunity to keep her coaching skills going, staying in sports administration in some capacity in the future is also one of her goals. Overall, Pezzino’s approach in her new ventures is keeping an open mind and learning from as many people as possible.
“I really want to try and build a foundation with both, and then, I know, at some point, I’ll have to decide what I really want to do,” Pezzino said. “But, I’m still trying to build the foundation of gaining as much knowledge as I can in both, since I’m still young. … I’m just going to then kind of see where it takes me from there.”