Land O'Lakes grad and soccer standout Stacy Bishop plans to transfer from LSU to Florida.
By STEVE LEE
Published November 25, 2004
LAND O'LAKES - For former Land O'Lakes Gator Stacy Bishop, being a Tiger has lost its appeal.
She wants to be a Gator again - a Florida Gator, that is.
Bishop, who played two seasons at Louisiana State, orally committed Tuesday to the University of Florida.
"It's exciting," Bishop said. "I wanted to come back to Florida, but I didn't want to be too close to home."
Before starring with the Tigers, the high-scoring forward led Land O'Lakes to a state championship in 2003. It is the only state soccer title - boys or girls - in Pasco County history.
The county's career goal-scoring leader (192) in high school, Bishop led the Tigers in scoring as a freshman with 12 goals and four assists for 28 points. She finished second in team scoring (9-7-25) this season.
Bishop was named the state of Louisiana's college freshman of the year and this season made the All-SEC second team.
Bishop decided to transfer after co-coaches George and Danielle Fotopoulos (husband and wife) resigned this month after an 8-11-1 season.
Bishop said she is leaving LSU "mainly because of the coaches. I liked them and they resigned. I think (George is) a really good coach and Danielle's one of the best players."
Danielle Fotopoulos is Florida's all-time scoring leader and played on the U.S. national team.
Florida coach Becky Burleigh acknowledged Bishop's weekend visit to Gainesville, but declined to comment on her transfer since it has not been completed. Bishop said she will take her finals at LSU next month and attend classes in Gainesville in January.
Bishop might have to red-shirt since she plans to transfer to a school in the same conference. If an appeal to NCAA officials fails, she would accept sitting out a year.
"I thought it over for a long time," Bishop said of being able to practice but not play with the Gators if she is red-shirted. "I'd get to do everything but play in the games. I'd just have to look at it as a positive and use the time to get better."
Bishop's parents, Maryann and Sonny, could not be happier about their daughter's decision. In two seasons, they have only missed a half-dozen games and plan to continue attending as many as possible.
"Southwest (Airlines) is going to miss me," Maryann Bishop said. "Now we'll drive to the home games and fly to the road games."
Bishop is majoring in kinesiology at LSU and plans to continue studying sports medicine at Florida. She said she will miss her Tiger teammates and the Fotopouloses, but is looking forward to playing for Florida.
"I was deciding between LSU and Florida anyway," she said of signing a full scholarship as a Land O'Lakes senior.
"She loved LSU, but for her the soccer part is huge," Maryann Bishop said. "She devotes her life to the game and hopes to play beyond college."
