SHARING HER LOVE FOR THE GAME

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

Courtney Scrivano's earliest memories as a Baylor fan were sitting in the stands at Floyd Casey Stadium, watching the games with her dad and grandfather.

"And that was a time when there was not a lot of winning," said Scrivano, who is now Baylor's Assistant AD for Resource Development Communications. "When we got a first down, there was a celebration as though it were a touchdown. But, it doesn't take away from those experiences that we had."

Her first connection with Baylor Athletics came from those family trips to the stadium with football season tickets purchased by her grandfather, LeRoy Pahmiyer.

"My grandfather loved college football, but he was doing that to come spend time with us, and he was creating an opportunity for us to go to games and do things as a family, even when he wasn't there," Courtney said. "Sitting there with my dad and my grandfather and hearing them talk about what's going on in the game was how I basically gained a cursory knowledge of the sport of football and enough to understand what was going on."

Now, in her role with the athletic department, Courtney gets the chance to talk about that connection and how she will "always support this program whether it's winning or losing, because the experience as a fan can be so much more than that. I love to think about those days and how special those times were, even though it wasn't about coming away with the win."

For the last 4 ½ years, she's also seen sports through the lens of a coach's wife. Courtney is married to Joey Scrivano, the head women's tennis coach, and the couple have two sons, Nico and Luca.

"As a fan, you're wanting the team to win. If they win, you're happy. And if they lose, you're disappointed," she said. "As a coach's wife, it's something very different. It's more concern for the coach and the team and how they're feeling. That means there are times when you can lose a match and still feel OK, because you know the players got better that day or you know they competed their tails off. By the same token, there are times when they win and you're like, 'Oh, Coach isn't going to be happy with that.' It's a totally different experience."

A Waco native, Courtney was home schooled until the eighth grade, when she started attending Waco Covenant. That school merged with Waco Christian a couple years later and became Texas Christian Academy.

At the smaller school setting, "you got to dip your toes in a lot of different things and be exposed to a lot of different activities," she said. Courtney played basketball, volleyball and softball, ran track, did cheerleading "for one year and one year only," sang in the choir, acted in a play and won a state academic competition in original oratory, "which was delivering a persuasive speech."

"At the bigger schools, you have to kind of pick and choose," she said. "What I liked about being at a smaller school is we got to do everything. You may not become a star in one thing, but you leave high school pretty well-rounded."

Even while she was a student at Mary Hardin-Baylor, graduating in 2006 with a BBA degree in marketing, Courtney stayed connected with Baylor.

"I came back all the time, because some of my best friends stayed here and went to Baylor," she said. "I came back every year for Homecoming and the bonfire, and I would go to Sing and Pigskin. I attended a lot of Baylor events, which obviously helped when I started working for Baylor. I had a really good foundation of what the university is like and all the traditions."

Courtney's first job out of college was marketing coordinator at the Findley Group in Waco, a franchise development company.

"As a starting point for my career, it was incredible," she said, "because I got to touch every area of marketing. I got to work with a PR firm, a creative agency. I had to report to the franchisors how our marketing efforts were performing, which sometimes were very difficult conversations. So, having to learn how to do that right out of school was huge for my development."

After three years in the business world, including one as Director of Corporate Communications for Solutions 360, Courtney felt a disconnect with the work she was doing and wanted to do "something more meaningful."

Scrivano

When a writing position opened up in the Baylor Development office, Courtney jumped at the chance to "tap into that part of my background."

"I had always enjoyed writing, but had never thought about doing it as a profession. So, that was really cool to be able to grow in a different way," she said. "And that's where I really found that sweet spot. I like that the work we're doing is impacting students every day and the money we're raising is going to support the mission of this university. When you have a connection to the bigger picture of what you're doing professionally, it can be a lot more fulfilling."

Eventually moving into more of a managerial role, Courtney served as Director of Development Communications and worked with a "really fun team. It was amazing."

Although she wasn't looking to leave, Courtney got a chance for a marketing job at the Bush Center in Dallas.

"I was just a little bit unsure about making a move, because I did love being at Baylor and I loved the work I was doing," she said. "But, when you have the opportunity to go to work for a former President and First Lady, it's kind of hard to imagine saying no to that."

Working through the non-partisan Public Policy Center that advances awareness on issues, "the one that really resonated with me was the efforts to support veterans and their civilian life and how challenging that is. That is something that President Bush is extremely passionate about."

Two years later, in her exit interview, Courtney brought Joey and her parents, Dale and Nancy Pahmiyer, for a sit-down visit with President Bush.

"He sat with us for probably an hour and just asked my parents questions and talked to Joey a bit about his career," she said. "That was something special, kind of a thank-you to my parents for all the things they've done for us, all the sacrifices they've made for us. I can make this connection, and you can have an opportunity to meet a really wonderful human being."

After getting married in November 2014, Courtney returned to Baylor in 2015 as Director of Marketing for the Bear Foundation.

"It was really fun to come back to Baylor, but also exciting to come back and be in a different area with different job responsibilities," she said, "and found very quickly that I really love being part of an athletic department. . . . I grew up going to Baylor sporting events, so I knew I had that connection to athletics, which is kind of what led me to here. And I found it to be everything I hoped it would be."

Meeting through a mutual friend, Joey and Courtney found that they could talk forever and never run out of things to say. "I kept thinking it was going to run its course, and it never did," she said.

"I think why we had so much to talk about is because we see the world in very similar ways. Once you start recognizing that in another person, then it's exciting to think about being partners and the life that you see together."

Their lives changed on Oct. 22, 2016, with the birth of their first son, Nico.

Scrivano

"Nothing can prepare you for being a mom," Courtney said. "I spent a lot of time with my nieces and nephews, I baby-sat growing up. But, nothing is the same as being responsible for a little life.

"I was prepared for sleepless nights, maybe even for having a fussy baby to some extent, although Nico I think tested my own idea of what that would be like going into it. What I wasn't prepared for was the fact that when you have a little being that's dependent on you, you lose a lot of independence. So, it was an adjustment. It changes you fundamentally, but also it doesn't. You're still the same person with the same interests, the same desires, the same flaws. But, it does put your life in perspective and it does place a priority on your family."

On Nov. 5, 2018, baby Luca was added to the family. "He's a sweet, sweet baby. Luca means light. And Luca is a little ray of sunshine. He smiles, and his whole face brightens up. He's been a joy to add to the family."

With the growing family, Joey and Courtney moved from Joey's bachelor pad to a Tudor-style cottage house in a historic part of Waco that's close to the Baylor campus. It was featured on Season 5 of the "Fixer Upper" television show that was aired on Dec. 18, 2017.

"That fit Joey and I to a tee. Not the TV part of it. We were a fish out of water completely for that," Courtney said. "But, the part of being able to take this home that we knew we loved and we knew had potential and turn it over to them without a moment's hesitation of what they would do with it . . . I was pregnant with Nico, Joey's always busy. So, being able to renovate that way, as opposed to us having to be there every day, making every decision, making sure things stay on track, that was a great fit for us."

Courtney hasn't ruled out having more children, but "we're going to pause with these two for now."

"I'm a big believer in God's providence," she said. "So, I believe in letting doors open and close and following what He has for you. When it feels like a door is opening, that's when you allow yourself to walk through it. I think it helps you to be very content in life when you trust that God is working on your behalf."'

Jovan Overshown, Senior Associate AD for Branding & Engagement, said "having Courtney as a colleague and partner has been an absolute gift."

"I have the unique privilege of working with both Courtney and her husband, Joey – two remarkable people," she said. "Courtney is an incredible strategic communications professional, with the impressive ability to polish and finesse even the most challenging of situations. But more importantly than all of that, she is one heck of a mom and wife. Her ability to seamlessly do it all is beyond commendable."

Adding the Assistant AD title and more job responsibilities in the last year, there's a sense of contentment in Courtney's current role. "All I've ever done is tried to take the next step that made sense at the time," she said.

"Sometimes, that meant saying no to things because there wasn't a peace in my spirit about it or just feeling like maybe it wasn't the right time. Obviously, a lot of it just depends on trusting that when and if something is the right move that the Lord will make it abundantly clear and will open those doors. I don't get too far ahead of anything."

Scrivano

SHARING HER LOVE FOR THE GAME

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