Molloy University

Introduction

At Molloy University, a growing athletics program is supported by a small, dedicated team responsible for keeping 19 sports moving forward. Every practice, recruiting visit, and competition depends on work happening behind the scenes. From compliance forms and roster management to recruiting and CARA (Countable Athletic Related Activities), those responsibilities touch nearly every corner of the department. With only 13 full-time administrators, finding more efficient ways to manage this work became increasingly important.

Michael Grasso understood that better than most. Before becoming Molloy’s Director of Athletics in 2026, he spent 17 years as the athletic department’s Senior Associate Athletic Director for Compliance. He knew where daily processes created unnecessary work, and he understood how quickly small inefficiencies could add up across an entire department.

Now in its second year with Spry, Molloy has brought compliance forms, CARA, recruiting, and roster management into one connected platform. The shift has reduced paperwork, created visibility for coaches, and given staff more confidence in the systems supporting their work.

The Challenge: Protecting the Department’s Time

Before Spry, many of Molloy’s daily processes relied on a limited compliance platform and writable PDF forms. Sharing, completing, reviewing, and tracking those documents required more time than the work itself should have taken. No single task created a major problem on its own. But repeated across compliance, recruiting, rosters, and 19 athletic programs, those manual steps became a steady source of administrative work for both coaches and staff.

For Grasso, however, choosing a new platform was only part of the challenge. His biggest concern was making sure the coaching staff would embrace it.

Introducing new technology at the beginning of an academic year can be difficult, especially for coaches already balancing recruiting, practices, travel, and student-athlete support. Molloy needed more than a platform with stronger functionality. It needed an onboarding experience that would make the transition feel manageable for everyone.

A Transition That Built Confidence

Molloy began its transition to Spry in Fall 2024, and the experience was much smoother than Grasso anticipated.

From the first training sessions, Spry’s onboarding and support gave coaches the guidance they needed to begin using the platform confidently. Rather than facing resistance, the department moved through its first year with strong adoption across the staff.

The transition was seamless. I was concerned that my coaching staff would be resistant to learning a new system, but the onboarding and support was top notch and made the transition quite easy in the first year.

– Michael Grasso

What Grasso expected to be the most difficult part of the transition quickly became one of its easiest. That early success built trust in the platform and set the tone for how the department would continue using it.

One Platform for Work That Happens Every Day

Two years into the partnership, Spry sits at the center of many of Molloy’s daily operations.

Compliance forms, CARA logging, recruiting, and roster management now live within one connected system. Instead of moving between separate documents and disconnected workflows, coaches and administrators can complete more of their work in one place.

Among those changes, beginning-of-year compliance forms have made one of the clearest differences. A process that once relied heavily on writable PDFs is now easier to distribute, complete, and monitor. Automatic reminders also follow up with student-athletes, removing a recurring task from the compliance staff’s workload.

For beginning-of-year compliance forms, the process could not be simpler now, and having automatic reminders sent to student-athletes has been a time saver for sure.

– Michael Grasso

The time savings extends beyond compliance. Staff spend less time checking CARA submissions, while coaches spend less time managing paperwork connected to recruiting, roster management, and CARA.

For a department supported by 13 full-time administrators, those reclaimed hours matter. They mean less time tracking paperwork and more time supporting coaches, programs, and student-athletes.

Designed for Every Coach

One question followed Molloy throughout the transition: Would every coach truly use the platform? The answer became clear through one of the department’s favorite adoption stories.

One coach required a little more time than the rest of the staff to become comfortable with the platform. Once he did, he became one of Spry’s most active users and earned a new nickname within the department.

I have one coach who I was most concerned about that has now become known as our ‘Spry Savant,’ as he is our most active coach and utilizes the system to its full potential.

– Michael Grasso

The turnaround reflected what Michael was seeing across the department. When a platform is approachable and coaches receive the right support, adoption follows. Today, every coach across the department uses Spry with confidence, demonstrating just how approachable the platform has become.

Support That Keeps the Department Moving

The people behind the platform have played a major role in Molloy’s continued confidence in Spry.

When Michael reaches out with a question or an idea, the team responds quickly. In many cases, they do more than answer the immediate request, they suggest a different approach that may work even better for the department.

Their customer service is top notch. If you’re thinking about something you want to implement or need help with something already in place, they are readily available and quick to help or suggest another idea that works even better.

– Michael Grasso

That responsiveness does more than resolve support requests. It gives Molloy the confidence to continue building on the platform, knowing guidance is available whenever the department needs it.

A Partnership from the First Conversation

For Michael, the relationship with Spry felt different before Molloy ever began using the platform.

The initial conversations were personal and intentional, focused on understanding the department rather than moving quickly through a sales process. That same approach carried into implementation, onboarding, and every interaction that followed.

Really from the start, the initial Zoom meetings felt very personal and intentional. It never felt like a sales pitch, and that carried straight over into the onboarding and every interaction we continue to have.

– Michael Grasso

The same experience has continued through Michael’s partnership with his dedicated Customer Success Manager and the broader Spry team. For a department built on relationships, having a partner that listens, responds, and helps identify better ways forward has become just as valuable as the platform itself. That trust is also what has made Molloy comfortable continuing to expand how it uses Spry.

Results and What Comes Next

As Molloy’s partnership with Spry has evolved, their daily operations look noticeably different.

Compliance forms, CARA, recruiting, and roster management now move through one connected platform. Writable PDF workflows have largely been left behind, automatic reminders have reduced manual follow-up, and both coaches and compliance staff have regained time across their daily responsibilities.

Adoption may be the clearest sign of success. Michael entered the transition concerned about how coaches would respond to a new system. Today, the entire staff uses Spry, and the coach he once worried about most has become its most enthusiastic user.

Even with that progress, Michael sees Molloy as being early in the partnership. The department plans to add Spry’s education component and the Spry/Slate integration, bringing more of its academic and admissions-related work into the same connected environment.

I feel like we are still in the early phases and Spry can do a lot more for us. We have just started to scratch the surface and are excited about what’s next.

– Michael Grasso

For a program continuing to grow, that momentum may be the most meaningful result. The first year gave Molloy confidence that the platform could work across the department. The next phase is about building on that foundation and making Spry an even more central part of how Molloy Athletics operates.