Talk CNY Miniseries: Leadership Lessons - Champion’s Mindset: Inspiring Lessons from SU’s Coach Jack

In this episode of Talk CNY: Leadership Lessons, presented by NBT Bank, we sit down with Felisha Legette-Jack, Head Coach of Syracuse University’s Women’s Basketball Team. In just three seasons, Coach Jack has turned the Orange into one of the ACC’s top contenders, earning ACC Coach of the Year in 2024—the first Syracuse head coach, men’s or women’s, to ever receive that honor. 

Beyond the wins, Coach Jack shares how her faith, family and life lessons drive her leadership, and how she empowers young athletes to chase—and surpass—their dreams. From navigating challenges to building mental toughness, her passion for helping people shines through. 

Tune in to hear how she leads with purpose and creates lasting impact.  

Transcript

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Welcome to the Talk CNY miniseries Leadership Lessons, where we sit down with business and community leaders to discuss the lessons that have led them to where they are today and serve as a guiding light forward. Our guest today is Felisha Legette-Jack, the Head Coach of Syracuse University's women's basketball team. In the three seasons leading the Orange, Coach Jack has resurrected a Syracuse program from the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference to one of the top teams in the nation's best conference. Coach Jack guided Syracuse to back-to-back 20-win seasons in her first two years and made a post-season tournament both seasons. In her first season, she took Syracuse to the Super 16 of the Women's National Invitation Tournament and finished with a 2013 record. In her second season on the Hill, the Orange matched program bests in regular season wins, conference wins and ACC road wins. Syracuse was picked to finish ninth in the ACC, but posted a 13-5 record and earned the number three seat in the ACC tournament. Tying the biggest jump from the preseason expectations to final standings in ACC history. Coach Jack was named ACC Coach of the Year in 2024, becoming the first Syracuse head coach to earn the honor in men's or women's basketball. Welcome, Coach Jack. How are you? Fantastic. Oh, I love it. You are a powerhouse both on and off the court. It is such a pleasure to meet you today. Well, it's just easy to just be yourself here, and when you're your authentic self, it gives a good energy outwardly, and then people think that good things about yourself. So I'm excited about being in this wonderful city, community, university, and I hope it shows through my energy that I exude. It does. It does. So Coach Jack, what drives you to get up and lead every single day? Well, I have young people that I have to help them find their dreams, and attain their dreams and surpass their dreams, and it's not about me. It used to be about me as a student athlete. It used to be about me when I was a younger coach, but now at this ripe old age of 59, I think I have to really put all my energy in helping young people attain their dreams, and it gets me out of bed every day, and it gets me excited about starting my day. That's beautiful. What challenges have really tested your motivation over the years, and how did you overcome them? Well, the challenge sometimes with young people is that they don't believe. They don't believe that they deserve. They don't believe that they can become. They don't believe that it's their story that needs to be put on the big stage and to convince them that maybe it is, if you give it a hundred percent and every day, it's always a different kid that you see them drop their head and say, maybe it's not for me. And that's a challenge. Every day I have 15 players and I want all 15 of them to be exactly what they thought they could be when they were 8, 9, 10 years old and better. And every day I try to help them get there. I love that the goal is to help them to achieve their wildest dreams. Yeah. That's beautiful. Thank you. What personal values guide you, whether it's as a coach or as a leader? Yeah. Well, I come from a strong faith-driven family led by a lady named Thalia Legette. That's my mother. And we didn't have a lot. We had each other. We had our faith, and we had our belief that He would take care of us, and we became a family of five that never got in trouble. She had to work two jobs, and left us home. My brother had to be the father figure for us all, and he did the best he could at the ripe old age of 20, 21 years old. We just understood the assignment, and we watched her go to church every Sunday and tithe. She's the strongest base of who I am, my mother and our family and my faith and our ability to just want to help people become better is a real issue, real thing for me. I really want to make people better every day. Jogging down the street, I saw a little person struggling, and I just stopped and said,' Do you need some help?' And my mom was right there. I'm like, I am one of those people. So I think that's what drives me every day. That's what makes me who I am, and my faith is majorly important because of a lady named Thalia Legette. I love that your mother sounds like an amazing woman. Yeah, she's absolutely incredible. Well, your team is blessed to have you as well. So as you prepare them for this season, before they even hit the court, I know that they're conditioned both physically and mentally. How do you ensure that they're ready? We work on a mental piece a lot. We read books. We watch movies together, and we talk about life lessons often. We talk about the locker room as your sanctuary. We don't bring anything negative in that locker room, bad relationship, bad tests, bad. That's not for the locker room. You got to go outside that locker room. And we talk about our standards. What we stand for. You go to class. You sit in the first three rows of the class, and it's something about going to school, but it's something even more important to have a relationship with the professor that's teaching the course. How do you do that? You sit close enough to them so you can hear them. And so we hit them with all this stuff that we stand for, and we bring them up in the summer so that they can get it. And mental is the physical as four is to one. And so we pour into the mental four times more than we do the physical because we believe that physical is going to catch up. But the mental piece is for young people with this age of so many different distractions, we lock in hard with that, and we recruit some really good kids that understand the assignment. Oh, I love that. Well, the assignment is part of it: a full season. And a full season is long. Yes, two semesters long. So how do you ensure that you and your team stay focused, and stay ready and motivated throughout the entire season? Well, you stay prayed up for one, and you sign kids that understand that what I coach, and I just love this thing called life. I'm going to bring energy every day. He just gave me somebody else's dose of enthusiasm, a purpose I guess because I'm always up like this and I tell my players, don't count on it though. There's got to be something that if I'm not ready, what's going to motivate you? What's going to make you be the best version of yourself? And so we ask them what their legacy is going to be when they first arrive. I want to be the person that people look back and say, you know what? She changed the trajectory of the program, or she helped them get to a final four. But if that's what your legacy is going to be, how will you get there? If I can't motivate you, what's your favorite quote? And we put that on their locker so that they can really remember every day you go in your locker to change to get ready, you see your legacy. You see your quote that's going to inspire you. Then you come out to the court, and here I am. And that's the extra stuff. I think that if that's who you are innately as a person, you don't have to worry about how long the season is and how long you've been doing this. It's just being around good people makes it easy for it to be great. And I always, for the most part, have really good kids that really that inspire me to want to try harder. And you do it every day, and you just stay locked into where your feet are. So we make the most of what our today is, and if we get blessed with our tomorrow, then deal with it then. Well said. Well, what role would you say that innovation plays in your coaching, whether it's through the strategy or even the training methods? My innovation comes from the staff that I have. I have a great staff that kind of brings new ideas to me often. New plays that we can run. New ways we can get prepared for our pre-season, post-season, things of that nature. So we come up with a whole plan of what the year's going to look like. You have to do that. It'd be silly for us to think that be where your feet are. Don't worry about tomorrow. Oh, tomorrow comes, and you're not ready. So my staff gets ready with me and for me, and we have connections of what does this year look like now that we have 15 players as opposed to 13 players last year, and these 15 players are our young ladies that can really play. And so they're going to deserve, earn minutes. How does it look playing 12 players out of that 15? How does it look for those other three that don't get playing time? What is our plan of attack for that? But we always go from what it looks like from a whole part perspective. We get to a Final Four and win it. Okay, what if we get to an Elite Eight? What if we get to just the ACC Tournament? How does that look? And what is our game plan and our strategy? What kind of offense-defense are we going to run for those segments of the season? And I got some amazing coaches that really get me on the edge of uncomfortability, if you will, so I can see the picture from a holistic point of view, and then break it down in pieces. And we'll have a preseason situation where we'll go away my coaches and I and just hammer away for two or three days where no distractions and come up with some plans and strategy. I'm not going to tell you all those things because I want, listen... I don't want Duke and all of them to know my stuff. I understand. But the idea behind it is we break it down from the holistic point. We make it smaller, and we keep in mind this is a people's game that we coach and there's people involved and as innovative and creative if we want to be, we've got to remember that some kid might lose their mother, or might have a season-ending injury that could be a major player for us. And change is very important as creative and innovative. We need to be able to pivot, and we have room for that as well. Well, you're doing great. I hear you talking about the strategy, the planning for greatness beforehand, different tiers of greatness and how you're going to handle it as you get there along the way. Coach Jack, as I said, you are a powerhouse both on and off the court. God bless you. So as we're speaking about innovation, I know that there's recently been a new era that's come about within college athletics. There was the recent settlement that took place in June. It was between the House and the NCAA. So how has this new funding model really changed operations for the women's basketball team, if at all? I think it evened the playing field. One thing that I had to struggle with my first couple years here at Syracuse is that I can recruit. I'm really good about helping young people see the vision that we have for anywhere I've coached, including Syracuse. But we couldn't compete financially with things that were happening with the bigger schools. And when they, evened the playing field, you're going to see the season this year, the young people that were able to say yes to us due to the fact that not only are they going to get the best education at the best school in the best city, best community and the best coaching staff, but they also are going to be in competition with financially what the bigger schools can give them as well. And so I was able to recruit differently this season with the young people that I was able to attain. And if you - 38 years in this business, I kind of have an idea how to tell a kid that your dreams matter, and I'm going to help you attain them. But it got to a point where I knew I couldn't go after certain kids because we weren't going to be able to get them. So let's not waste our time. Now, every kid in the country is a kid that I'm going after. I love that. Yeah. Well, you've really described here how it's going to help you, the opportunities that are available. So Syracuse University Athletics, you recently launched this new campaign, Champion 'CUSE. So how can anyone get involved? Well, we have a great staff and organization that really out that communicates about the financial pieces behind what we need, how we need it, and they lock in with people that can offer financial assistance, and I let them do their job. But one thing about that we're creating is a place in a space where we can help our young people in the future come. Financially, that's the name of the game right now. And I think that if we can help financially support our young people and give what you can, and then two more dollars on top of that, I think that we can really bring in some high-quality student athletes. And I promise you, we're not going to bring kids in here that's just going to play basketball. We're going to get high degrees. We've got architect majors. We got Falk majors. We got communication majors, which is number one school in the country for what, last 50 years. And we've got 3.47 overall team GPA since I've been here for my team. So you're not giving to people that's to put a ball, bounce it, put it in a hole. You're actually creating an opportunity for the best people to come out of this university to be CEOs, COOs, presidents of the United States, right here in our program for one, but for our athletic department for two. We have the money for this year of the 20.5 million to assist in getting the best players, athletes, students to join us. But we have to have a surplus to make certain that we have it for the next few years, so we can attain and retain this opportunity. And so we're all excited about, for now what John and his team is trying to create is an opportunity for us to have it for the long term. Every little bit can help. The support, financially, is one piece for sure, but coming to a game is another way. So Coach Jack, towards the end, we like to do a Rapid Fire section. So within this, I'll hand you these cards, and what we'd like you to do is read the question and then answer it within 30 seconds. It just gives us more information about you and your leadership style. Let's go. All right. First question, what aspect of your work brings you the most joy and fulfillment? My babies. My players. Every single day. My son gets a little jealous every day I come home because it is like, 'Oh, Mom, I'm actually your child.' And I know that son. But these young ladies, when they get it, when they really say, oh, aha, and the defense looks good and the offense looks good, and they really believe that their dreams really can manifest themselves, I really wake up with that kind of - this is the day that they're all going to get it, and that's my fulfillment. Not that they get it all the time. That they want to get it, and when that light comes on, and they do get it over the moon. I love that. All right. Second question, what strengths do you rely on the most as a leader? My strength that I think I rely on the most is to motivate people, inspire people, communicate with people, hug people through the process of believing that they're dreams matter, and that they can come true. And I just think every day if I pour out to you about your dreams, young people, man on this corner, it is just these four fingers that point back to me. So it's a selfish thing. The more I motivate you and inspire you and create in you this ability that you could become, it just makes me believe that I too can take steps towards that as well. So it's a selfish thing, but it is this thing that I hope that I can inspire others to want to become as well. It's just a great human being. You're doing great. Okay. How do you continue to grow and refine your skills? Prayer helps me grow. Family helps me believe, and my team of people around me, my husband is a major player in my life. My son is a major player in my life. When they pour into me, I'm full. Sometimes a lot of people like to give of themselves, but they only 80%. And how are you going to give me a hundred percent and you're working on 80%. My faith and my family and my friends help me attain that a hundred percent fulfillment of who I am. So I can pour out all of me. It may not be a lot. It might be too much, but it's everything I have, and it's all my authenticity towards you. I think something good, small or big could come out of that. That's beautiful. So let's see here. How do you manage stress and avoid burnout when dealing with high-pressure situations? I just believe that stress is the number one killer. And the more you allow stress to become who your person is, it can take you out. And so I try not to think about, okay, tie score 10 seconds on a clock. How do you score to win? You laugh. You have fun. You say,'oh my goodness, remember the 6:00 AM practice? Remember all those times when you got, I said again and again. It's right now. It is right now. Let's go take it.' And what we get out of this is the lesson we're supposed to from - win or lose. And all the time doesn't work out for me, but I really try to manage stress by believing that it doesn't supposed to belong to me, it belongs to somebody else. And so yes, it is a situation, and I was in a situation where I got in a car accident, and I could have really panicked. I just saw that the situation where it was about to really be incredulous, and whatever's going to happen is going to happen, and I ended up finding this young guy to pull up to me and say, 'Hey, can I help?' Got me out of the accident, and everything was good. You can manage stress if you choose to not let stress run your life. I make choices every second of the day to not let stress be the reason why I become or don't become something. Well said. So alrighty, here's another one. What role does mindset play in leading through good times and times of adversity? I think, like I said earlier, mental is the physical as four to one. And if you can be mentally strong, you can be physically ready to take on any challenges. And I just believe that the mental part of it is the most significant thing. You got to believe that you deserve something. You got to believe that it's your time. It's your story. You've got to believe - you bring negative to me. I don't need to receive it. And my mind is always, for the most part about positivity. And so even through all the positive times, that's great. The adversity time, I go home, I cry just like everybody else, and I want things to be great. And they don't come out that way. I believe in the positivity of the mind. Adversity comes with whatever you're supposed to learn. Lessons we don't ever lose. We learn, we win, and we learn. We don't lose. If you tell your mind you're a loser, guess what? Nine times out of 10, you're a loser. I'm never a loser because I believe that every situation tough or good. I was supposed to win, and I'm supposed to learn. If anyone is a coach and they're like, you know what? I want to go on and I have big aspirations to be a great coach one day, what would you say to them? Yes, you can. If you aspire to become a coach, a teacher, a counselor, you can do anything you want. It's hard work because nothing's easy. But the first battle of the day is you got to believe that you can be. I never went into this coaching thing as a place I can land for 38 years. I just wanted to try it. I just wanted to see if I can help a kid believe that they can become something different. And that year turned to two to 10, to 2030, and it just seemed like I haven't worked in 38 years because I'm in my dream of inspiring people to become something different, hopefully better. And some people that coach really didn't learn a lot from me, and I didn't teach well to them, but I gave my best effort. So if you want to be an inspirational coach and leave your legacy out there, jump, jump and become and give it your best effort. You might have to pivot down the road, but give us your best effort. That's all I can offer to you. Well, Coach Jack, you are making such a difference in the lives of so many people. Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you so much for what you do and your team does, and I hope that together we can let everybody in the world see how amazing Syracuse really is. Let's go. Well, thank you for watching the Talk CNY Miniseries Leadership Lessons. You can catch it across all major podcast platforms online at centerstateceo.com, and we'll also have additional clips on social media. Have a great day, everyone. At NBT Bank. We know that this day starts with this one. This day starts with this one because no matter how unforgettable the extraordinary days are, there's a lot of everyday that leads up to them. You can count on NBT Bank to help you get started. NBT Bank, it starts here.