Sara Tisdale, a Central Michigan University alumna, was named as Chippewas' first women's lacrosse coach. The Chippewas will begin women's varsity lacrosse in spring, 2016, as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

"Sara is an individual who clearly understands our philosophy of creating an outstanding student-athlete experience and will help us continue to build our championship culture," Director of Athletics Dave Heeke said in a statement.

Tisdale said that Central Michigan has got a great academic reputation, and excellent community and alumni support.

"I think step one is just setting the tone for what CMU lacrosse is going to be," Tisdale said. "We want state of Michigan, regional and national kids to aspire to play here.

"I think you'll see a big splash in terms of offensive production," Tisdale said. "I played basketball for a long time, and my style is kind of like an up-tempo in-your-face basketball team."

Tisdale, a Lansing, Mich., native, graduated from CMU in 2006 with a bachelor of science in education and played club lacrosse.

Being a debut coach in a program's history doesn't scare Tisdale as she has been in a similar position before. In 2010, Tisdale became the first varsity women's lacrosse coach at NCAA Division III Augustana (Ill.) College.

During her three-year stint at Augustana, Tisdale guided the Vikings to Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference regular-season and tournament championships. She earned league coach of the year honors and was named Great Lakes Region coach of the year by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association.

Her coaching experience also includes a stint at the Michigan State women's club team from 2008-10.