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Christina Granville is ‘Ms. Basketball’

By Mary McCoy August 2023

Event host. Influencer. Model. Actor. Radio personality. Esports announcer. Brand ambassador. Professor. Reality TV star. Nonprofit founder. Ms. Basketball. Christina Granville ’13 boasts all of those titles on her résumé and more. The Saint Leo alumna is a multi-hyphenate who does it all. “I’m all things good energy,” Granville said with a laugh.

One of 10 children, Granville grew up in Clewiston, FL. As the “caboose” of her family, she found role models in her parents — dad Theodore is 94 and a pastor, and mom Catherine is 78 and a retired teacher.

Her love of basketball came from watching her big brother play. “I wanted to be just like him,” Granville said. “It was church every night, and then watching my brother play. I was 9 or 10, and I never looked back. There was an article written about me when I was young, and I said I wanted to be the first female in the NBA! Of course, I was going to be in the WNBA; I was going to be the next Lisa Leslie.”

Dream Deferred

Granville was recruited to play basketball and attend college at Independence Community College in Kansas. “My thought was that I wanted to get away [from Florida],” Granville said. She had a few scholarship offers, but a guidance counselor steered her to Independence.

After making a 24-hour trip in her purple 1994 Honda Civic to Kansas, “the coach tells me I’m not good enough and red-shirted me,” she said, dashing her hopes of playing that year.

Granville was devastated at the prospect of not playing college basketball and pursuing a career in the WNBA. “I thought if I couldn’t play basketball, then I don’t want to go to college,” she said.

She moved to Orlando and left the community college. There, Granville began brand ambassador work. “I got my first job for 7-Eleven, going to various college campuses handing out 7-Eleven coupons for $25 an hour. But I was missing basketball.”

So she played pick-up games and in summer leagues around the city. With her glamorous looks — makeup on and nails done — and her loudness on the court, she gained the attention of an agent at the age of 24. She told him she had given up her dream of playing for the WNBA or professionally overseas.

The agent told Granville if she was serious about playing basketball, she needed to go to college, and he secured tryouts for several teams, including Jefferson College in Missouri. “It had to be God as I had the best tryout of my life,” she said.

Soon, Granville was on the court again. During her two years at Jefferson, she hit the “reset button,” serving as captain of the women’s basketball team and breaking a school record with 22 rebounds in one game.

Her coach told her she should look at Saint Leo University, a “really good, private school” where she could get a full scholarship to play in Division II, while earning her degree closer to home.

Granville fell in love with Saint Leo on her first visit to campus. “I really got a chance to be myself at Saint Leo,” she said. “I was 26 or 27, older than all of my teammates. I wasn’t the stereotypical basketball player. But I felt at home. I still have friends from Saint Leo.”

Christina Granville played two seasons for the Saint Leo University Lions, 2011-2012 and 2012-2013.

Life at Leo

Christina Granville, No. 15, and her teammates unite during a game at the Marion Bowman Activities Center.

At first, Granville thought she would major in marketing, since she already was selling and marketing products as a brand ambassador. Her academic advisor gave her a “road map” for her future, helping her take courses she needed to graduate on time.

She realized that a bachelor’s degree in management suited her, and she found her professors to be positive and encouraging.

Granville choked up as she recalled her time at the university. “The opportunity to be at Saint Leo and play the game I love meant so much to me,” she said. “It was not only my teammates, but the support of the community and fans coming out.”

Saint Leo provided her with a foundation to help build her career. “I learned it’s OK to go back and start over. You’re never too old to live out your dreams,” Granville said.

On the Mic

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Christina holds HBCU NBA 2K Xbox League Champion trophies.

The multi-hyphenate career of Christina Granville includes being a host for the esports NBA 2K League.

Granville also models and acts.

As a host for the 2023 Super Bowl Experience in Phoenix, Granville interviews Chris Godwin of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Granville began entertaining in elementary school. “I have a big personality,” she said, which many would say is an understatement. As a brand ambassador, Granville picked up the microphone to start driving sales.

She recorded herself, creating hosting reels in order to obtain work hosting events and shows. “I started getting more and more gigs, and I documented it on social media, gaining followers,” she said.

Moving to Atlanta in 2013, Granville’s career took off. She appeared in Ride Along 2, Tyler Perry’s: The Have’s & Have Nots, and Dating In Atlanta: The Movie; graced more than 50 fashion show runways; hosted major events at the Essence Festival, NCAA Final Four, NCAA Football Championship, Black Enterprise Entrepreneurship Summit, and the 2023 Super Bowl; and became an Atlanta radio show host.

Now, she hosts the esports NBA 2K League and added “professor” to her resume, teaching esports team management at Morris Brown College. In addition to teaching and hosting events, Granville also is a guest correspondent for WAGA-TV, Fox 5, Atlanta.

Hosting the NBA esports program is exciting for Granville. “When I came into the NBA 2K League community there was only one African American woman in broadcast. I want to encourage people who look like me to get into this space and take full advantage of all of these opportunities. There is room for you!”

Fulfilling Others’ Dreams

Granville has not forgotten her first love: basketball. On her website, Ms. Basketball — her MySpace handle from back in the day — her mission statement is to encourage others “to keep hooping no matter your size, race, or age.”

She started the I Hoop Too Foundation, which focuses on personal development, education, and health and wellness programs for girls and the community. Her foundation provides summer camps, mentoring programs, coat and food drives, breast cancer awareness events, and scholarships so others can pursue higher education, following in her path.

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Christina Granville created the I Hoop Too Foundation, focusing on personal development, education, and health and wellness programs. The foundation hosts summer camps and skills clinics, as shown above.

“Ms. Basketball” hands a basketball to a young girl at a skills camp, sponsored by her foundation.

“I literally have been blessed at every level,” she said. “It keeps getting better and better. I want my life to be motivation to others to not give up on their dreams.”

Innovation

Socially Savvy and Making Connections

By Yvette C. Hammett August 2023

Alumnus uses relationship-building skills he learned at Saint Leo to grow digital marketing business.

Five doctors are sitting at a bar … No, it’s not the punchline to a joke. It is how Saint Leo University alumnus Billy Ash ’11 took his digital marketing business into the medical realm.

At the time, Ash and his business partner, former NFL player Tom Ottaiano, were working above a pizzeria and bar owned by Ottaiano’s father. They had finished work and were sitting at the bar when they struck up a conversation with five OB-GYNs. Before they left that night, the doctors agreed to sign with their company, Today’s Business, and Ash and Ottaiano had agreed to travel with the doctors to a Las Vegas convention to pitch the company and how other doctors could use their company’s services.

Social media was new, and they were on the cutting edge when it came to marketing companies using Facebook and Twitter.

“We told them, ‘What is the first thing people do when they have a baby? They post it on Facebook,’” Ash said, remembering that conversation. “If the doctors are named in that post, their business will grow. Nobody else was doing that. We knew social media was not going away and companies needed someone to manage it for them.”

Now, Today’s Business brings in about $5 million annually. Ash attributes much of its success to relationship-building, something he fine-tuned while attending Saint Leo. The business also is now fully remote — no more pepperoni wafting to the office upstairs.

Ash and Ottaiano opened Today’s Business in 2011 in New Jersey after friends convinced Ash he should follow his passion, the growing field of social media. That same year, Ash graduated from Saint Leo with a bachelor’s in business management.

The two first worked at running networking events, with Ash using email to invite attendees, then setting up a website to market the events and allow those interested to register. It was a whole new way of marketing, and people were impressed.

“Everybody was very interested in how we got them there,” Ash recalled. “It didn’t take us long to realize networking wasn’t really our route. We changed drastically and became a social media company selling services to any company out there. We ran their Facebook and Twitter accounts, organically posting for the companies.”

One of the earliest big-name clients Today’s Business signed was Cablevision in the New York City area, which was one of the largest cable and television companies in the nation. Three months later, Super Storm Sandy hit, and the two found themselves using cell phones — there was no power — to issue reports to Cablevision on who needed services. They connected the company with its customers.

“We became the social media guys,” Ash said.

The NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers heard the Today’s Business pitch and immediately bought into it. “We monitor all their accounts from 6 to 11 p.m. when social media is busiest,” Ash said. “We started doing game-day reports. If a fan was complaining, we could have someone in the arena there within 15 minutes to resolve the issue.” Tweets were replied to instantly, in order to increase customer satisfaction.

Today’s Business examines an organization’s needs and builds social media, websites, and influencer marketing to meet those needs, in turn gaining new customers based on their success, Ash said. “We stay in our lane and do what we do best.”

The digital marketing company does not have a sales team. It grows through word of mouth and relationship- building, Ash said. “Surround yourself with the correct people. I learned that at Saint Leo. I learned how to cultivate relationships.”

One of the company’s biggest clients, Red Rover®, a moving and storage company, came to Today’s Business through Joe Fortunato, Ash’s freshman roommate at Saint Leo.

It also signed Netflix, focusing on the streaming service’s new shops. They work with media conglomerates to place Netflix in publications such as Rolling Stone, Ebony, and Business Insider. They utilize affiliate marketing, an advertising model in which a company compensates third-party publishers to generate leads to the company’s products.

Early on, Today’s Business started an internship program that has turned into its greatest source of new employees — employees who Ash and Ottaiano trained themselves. Today, 40% to 60% of the company’s 35 employees are former interns, Ash said.

Everyone works remotely, including employees from 13 states and Washington, D.C.

“We are a marketing company that does not have to market our company,” Ash said. “It is built entirely on relationships. Real relationships. That is what I cultivated and grew based on my experience at Saint Leo. Being in a remote environment has changed the way we think about relationships. In the past, we used to have to travel five hours to visit a client. Now that we are completely remote, it makes us much more accessible to our clients, and they can meet with our strategists face-to-face with one click of a button. It allows us to build on those relationships.”

Ash served as a resident assistant while at the university and built good relationships with the students in the residence halls he supervised. He was a member of Kappa Theta fraternity and formed more connections there.

“I learned the importance of being honest, holding yourself accountable,” he said.

Professors at Saint Leo cared more about their students than if they passed or failed, Ash continued. But, “They would get disappointed if you did not get an assignment in or did not do your best. I still talk to my teachers, even the one who pushed me hardest to get everything done. Her name was Dr. Barbara Caldwell [professor of economics]. She is retired now, but still involved with Saint Leo.”

Today, when Ash is meeting with his team, he thinks about the accountability he learned at Saint Leo. “The thing that has kept us going is our relationships.”

Get Involved

Billy Ash gives back to the university by serving on the Saint Leo University Alumni Association Board of Directors. If you are interested in learning more about alumni volunteer opportunities, please contact alumni.engagement@saintleo.edu.

Philanthropy

Learning to Lead

By John Agnello August 2023

Opportunities at Saint Leo led to a hall of fame coaching career for Pete Mulry ’67.

If you walk around Tampa with Pete Mulry ’67, chances are you’ll hear someone shout, “Hey, coach!”

With 15 years of coaching experience, four state championships, a national championship, a series of best-selling children’s books, and his name permanently enshrined into four halls of fame, Mulry is known by many in the community and has become a Tampa Bay-area legend in his own right.

If you ask Mulry where he developed the skills needed to become a motivational leader, he will tell you that his journey started as a member of the “pioneer” class at Saint Leo College in 1963.

As part of the first class of students to attend Saint Leo College, Mulry and his classmates laid the foundation for all that Saint Leo University offers today.

Like many of his peers, Mulry left home for the first time to attend Saint Leo. Initially from Rutherford, NJ, Mulry experienced culture shock when he traded his daily view of the New York City skyline for the country roads of Pasco County.

Mulry recalls seeing Abbot Marion Bowman riding around campus in overalls on a tractor — a sight far different than the more urban environment in which he was raised.

“I was born in New Jersey, but I grew up at Saint Leo,” Mulry said, describing his transformational experience at Saint Leo College.

As an only child, Mulry had to adjust to the life of a college student. He quickly adapted to the new environment and became involved with student government, his fraternity (Phi Theta Chi), and most importantly to him — baseball.

Saint Leo Monarchs, 1967 — In 1967, the Monarchs are shown in action at Massey Field in Dade City, FL.

The Saint Leo College bus transported players to the nearby practice fields.

For the first two years of Saint Leo College’s baseball program, student-athletes had to take a bus to the fields near the San Antonio Lumber Co. to practice.

While the resources and equipment at their disposal were modest, they made the most out of their experience through the relationships they built with their faculty, staff, and peers.

Coach Bobby Sullivan, the first-baseball coach at Saint Leo College, cared deeply for each of his athletes.

“He’s a good Catholic who led with discipline and love,” Mulry said about Sullivan, who he credits as one of the most influential people who taught him how to lead.

Sullivan appointed Mulry, who played shortstop, as the first captain of the Saint Leo College baseball team.

Saint Leo Baseball Team photo — Mulry is shown second row, first on the left, posing with his teammates.

During his senior year, Mulry’s mentor Sullivan left Saint Leo and was replaced by coach Norm Kaye. The styles of the two coaches contrasted greatly.

Life presented Mulry with another “curveball” when an injury derailed his final season and forced him to remain in the dugout. While others may have given up and quit the team after an injury, Mulry used the experience as an opportunity.

“You always learn more on a rainy day,” Mulry said about his approach to dealing with the setback. Kaye recognized Mulry as the team’s leader, and the players trusted him, allowing him to be the “co-manager” of the team.

Fred Cambria ’70, Saint Leo College’s first Major League Baseball player, credits Mulry’s leadership as instrumental in his development.

“Pete helped me build confidence and inspired me to succeed,” Cambria said. “His dedication to the student-athlete, on and off the field, has made him Mr. Baseball in the Tampa Bay area.”

Mulry graduated in the spring of 1967 with a degree in social studies education, which was one of the degree options offered at the time. His unique experience at Saint Leo prepared him for the next chapter of his life — coaching.

While still a young man himself, Mulry began his coaching career in 1968 at Tampa Catholic High School. At 21 years of age, he led his team to a state championship victory.

From 1968 to 1979, Mulry built one of the nation’s premier high school baseball programs, winning four state championships and one national championship, earning an impressive record of 329 wins and only 29 losses. In 1977, he was runner-up for the national coach of the year award.

From 1979 to 1983, Mulry went on to coach at the University of Tampa. He described playing against Saint Leo as a “weird experience.” He had to ask himself, “am I on the wrong team?”

With the experience he gained at Saint Leo, Mulry began his successful coaching and teaching career at Tampa Catholic High School.

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“Bob Sullivan’s influence stuck with me every single day,” Mulry said, reflecting on how his experience at Saint Leo helped him in his coaching career.

Mulry’s decorated coaching career earned him a spot in the Hall of Fame at Saint Leo University, Tampa Catholic High School, St. Mary’s Catholic School (NJ), and the Tampa Bay Sports Club. In 2018, the Tampa Bay Times listed him as one of the 50 top coaches in Tampa Bay-area history.

After retiring from coaching in 1983, Mulry embarked on a second career as a real estate agent in the panhandle of Florida. Leadership and winning remained fundamental to his mission and essential to his success.

Now, Mulry uses literature to inspire, lead, and motivate. In 2011, he authored, Conversations in the 7th Inning of My Life, which touches on life skills learned through sports.

Through the work of the Peter J. Mulry Foundation, Mulry provides life skills and training to deserving young people in the Tampa Bay area. He has authored 11 baseball-themed children’s books that focus on teaching fundamental values through diverse characters, several of which have made it to Amazon’s best-seller list in their respective categories.

“Watching what Coach Mulry does within the greater Tampa Bay area is truly inspirational,” said Lori Waechter, a foundation board member. “His leadership and ability to bring people together reflect the core values imprinted upon him during his time at Saint Leo University.

I’ve had the great privilege of working with him and learning firsthand the importance of teamwork and the value of investing in the young people of our community.”

After Pete Mulry retired from coaching, he created the Peter J. Mulry Foundation to help Tampa area youths. In 2022, he received Saint Leo Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award and celebrated with members of his foundation.

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“If it weren’t for Saint Leo, I’d be stuck in New Jersey pumping gas,” Mulry said, explaining how Saint Leo laid the groundwork for the rest of his life.

Join the James J. Horgan Heritage Society

To support the next generation of Saint Leo students, Pete Mulry has made a generous commitment of $500,000 to fund scholarships through a gift in his estate plan. You can join Mulry and others who have joined the James J. Horgan Heritage Society, honoring individuals who have made planned gifts to Saint Leo University in their estate plans. To learn more, please contact the University Advancement office at (352) 588-8450.

Student Life

Recent alumnus reflects on creative writing residence

By Greg Lindberg October 2020

Nicholas Finch with his partner, Ann Marie, their 3-year-old son, Wallace, and their rescue dog.

It’s hard to cram a graduate degree program, a full-time teaching job, and caring for a little one into one schedule, but Nicholas Finch ’20 managed to do it. And along the way, he nurtured his love of writing.

The 26-year-old, originally from Whitchurch, England, credits the flexibility of Saint Leo’s low-residency creative writing program to making his educational goals possible. Finch, who enjoys a career as a teacher, lives in St. Petersburg, FL with his partner, Ann Marie, 3-year-old son, Wallace, and a rescue dog.

Educational Journey

Finch began his higher education career at the University of Tampa (FL) where he majored in English and writing. It was a former professor who convinced him to enroll with Saint Leo University.

“I had Dr. Steve Kistulentz there (UT) and volunteered in the residency program,” Finch said.

While he was accepted into a few full-residency creative writing graduate programs and even started in one of them, he just didn’t feel comfortable.

Kistulentz became director of Saint Leo’s new low-residency Master of Arts in creative writing program in 2016. “I was following Dr. Kistulentz on Facebook and knew about Saint Leo starting its new graduate degree program,” Finch said. “He encouraged me to apply.”

Finch joined Saint Leo University in the summer of 2018, enrolling in the university’s creative writing graduate degree program, choosing the fiction track.

“With the full-residency programs, you pretty much can’t work anywhere else and have to be totally committed and invested in them,” Finch said. “I also wanted to start a family, and it just wouldn’t have been practical for me to be tied down with a program like that.”

The Online Format of this Creative Writing Degree Program

At first, Finch had some trepidation about enrolling in a low-residency degree program in which the coursework is primarily conducted online.

“Before starting this program, I had never taken an online course in my life,” Finch said. “I admit I was a little hesitant because I’m not the most tech-savvy person, and the idea of an online degree program was fairly intimidating to me.”

But thanks to the availability of his professors and the summer residency aspect which enabled him to meet his instructors and classmates in person at University Campus, his concerns were quickly alleviated.

“I’d say I actually felt closer to my professors in this program than I did in traditional classroom-based programs I’ve been in,” Finch said.

The Summer Residency

Each summer, students in this program gather at University Campus for one week. During this event, several accomplished authors are on hand to read from their works and offer advice to students on their respective writing projects.

“Some of the most exciting aspects of this program included listening to these writers read from their work and the craft workshops they do,” Finch said. Hearing their stories about their life experiences as writers has been invaluable.”

Getting to meet Pulitzer Prize-winning author Adam Johnson was a true thrill for Finch. “I actually shared a cheeseburger with him, which was a very interesting and unexpected experience,” Finch said. “I had led a book club on one of his books when I used to work at a bookstore.”

Connecting with his fellow students was also a big perk.

“It’s surprising how well you get to know the other students in just a week during the residency and through our online discussions,” Finch said. “You really learn so much from your classmates.”

Students must complete a book thesis project in their coursework. For Finch, he started out with a short story that he has expanded into a much longer project. The story is about two brothers in which one is left to care for the other brother’s child and the drama that ensues from this situation. It is loosely based on his personal experiences.

Career Highlights

Finch currently teaches ninth grade English and print and digital media at Jesuit High School in Tampa, FL. And when not in the classroom, his other job is his writing career. Already, Finch has had about 30 of his works—short stories and poetry—published in small literary and online journals.

Some of these print publications have included Avis Mag, Flash: The International Short-Short Story Magazine, The Level Crossing, and Haiku Journal.

Finch said there are three primary ways in which he comes up with the ideas for his creative writing.

“When something happens that intrigues or confuses me and I don’t have words for it, I immediately want to write about it and find the language to express it,” Finch said. “Also, any time someone tells me a story and I retell it and people take the time to sit down and listen, then I want to share it with more people in writing. Finally, I like thinking about memories I have from my own life and preserving them in writing.”

Despite his achievements as a young writer, he knows he can always get better at his craft.

“I want to keep getting better at it,” Finch said. “With creative writing, I want to craft better sentences, more nuanced characters, and find the best ways to perfect memories I already have in my mind.”

He has some advice for anyone who wants to grow as a writer:

“No matter what stage you’re at, don’t be afraid to take risks,” Finch said. “Don’t be afraid to write a story that is solely yours because people out there just might be interested in reading it. When you start writing stories with a specific audience in mind, it can hold you back from expressing yourself as far as who you are as an individual. Also, don’t be dissuaded by criticism because it’s only going to make you a better writer in the end.”

Learn More

Read one of Nicholas Finch’s works entitled, “What They Give Children” and learn more about the Master of Arts degree in creative writing.