Message from Matt: Spring is in the Air
4/20/2026 3:30:00 PM | General
Spartan Family!
Spring is finally here – and we have some exciting updates on projects and recent announcements, so let’s get into it!
Last month, we announced our newest varsity sport, women’s flag football, which will begin this fall and start competition in spring 2027. Additionally, we just announced our inaugural head coach, Noah Harris, who started the program at Southwestern College, where he led The Jinx to a winning record and six wins this year. We are excited about this program, which is a great addition to an emerging NCAA sport and a future Olympic sport.
Our outdoor sports are in full swing, with baseball in the heart of its schedule, while softball is off to a fast start at 24-15 and looking to continue making noise in the conference, as well as a big win over cross-town rival Wofford this past week! Track and field began its outdoor season a few weeks ago and will run through the first part of May. Senior Josh Gillis just set a new school record in the men’s mile, running a 4:12.78 - - congrats to Josh! Lastly, congratulations to our competitive dance team, who took home 4th place in Division I Small Hip Hop at the College Classic National Championship this past week. What an accomplishment for a first-year program!
You may have also noticed some changes on our website, UpstateSpartans.com. The refresh has added more features for fans and season ticket holders and allows us to better promote our corporate sponsors. It will also improve coverage and access for our teams. Please check it out if you haven't already.
Lastly, the save-the-date for Sparty’s Ball has gone out. This is our largest fundraiser of the year and helps support our 350 student-athletes through the Upstate Athletic Fund (UAF). The event will be held on Friday, May 15, 2025, at The Piedmont Club. Not only will the event feature a new day, moving from Saturday to Friday evening, and a new location, but also a new start time of 6:30 p.m. We still have some sponsor tables available, and you can also purchase tickets here. If you would like to donate an item, please contact Maddi here.
To wrap up, Spartan baseball will play at local professional ballparks on May 5 at Fluor Field against Elon and May 12 at Fifth Third Park against Clemson. Spartan softball will host the Big South Conference Softball Championships on campus from Wednesday, May 6, through Saturday, May 9.
As always, thank you for your continued support of Upstate Athletics!
-Matt
