Building Her Future: Cruzen Reflects on NCAA Legacy Lab
9/22/2026 11:45:00 AM | General, Soccer
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By: The Citadel Athletics
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CHARLESTON, S.C. – For most of her life, when Addison Cruzen was asked to describe herself, the answer usually started and ended in the same place -- soccer player.
After spending four days surrounded by student-athletes, entrepreneurs and business leaders at the 2026 NCAA Fall Legacy Lab in Indianapolis, the sophomore defender returned to The Citadel with a broader idea of what that answer could eventually become.
Cruzen was one of 47 sophomore and junior student-athletes from across all three NCAA divisions selected to participate in the Sept. 10-13 program, which combined keynote speakers, hands-on workshops, networking opportunities and an entrepreneurship pitch competition designed to help student-athletes prepare for life beyond competition.
Addison Cruzen (third row from the bottom, far left) poses with fellow student-athletes during the 2026 NCAA Fall Legacy Lab in Indianapolis. Cruzen was one of 47 participants selected from across all three NCAA divisions.
"It was honestly one of the coolest experiences," Cruzen said. "I met so many people from different sports, different divisions and different conferences. Everyone was around the same age and trying to figure out what they wanted to do, so it was really cool being around people who were in that same position."
A business major, Cruzen participated in the Blueprint to Breakthrough track, which focused on the fundamentals of starting, operating and growing a business.
The experience went well beyond listening to presentations.
Cruzen and the other participants worked through exercises centered around entrepreneurship, financial literacy, legal considerations, networking, personal development and pitching ideas. Many of the presenters were former student-athletes who had turned the habits and skills developed through sports into successful careers and businesses.
"I really think it was good that the NCAA did something like this because it showed that it isn't just about sports," Cruzen continued. "We learned about entrepreneurship, how to start a business, how to pitch an idea and even things like forming an LLC and why that matters. Even if you don't end up starting your own business, I feel like understanding business is useful because there is a business side to almost every career."
One of the highlights came through the Legacy Lab's Hustle Bowl, a hands-on pitch competition that placed participants into small groups and challenged them to identify a problem, create a solution and develop a business plan around it.
Cruzen's five-person group developed a concept for a shoe insert designed for athletes dealing with wet and odor-filled footwear after practices and games. Similar in idea to combining a deodorizer such as a sneaker ball with an insert placed directly into the shoe, the product was designed to help dry out footwear while also reducing odor between uses.
The exercise quickly became more than simply coming up with an idea.
The group built a pitch deck, determined potential manufacturing costs, discussed how much funding the business would require and prepared to present the concept to experienced business professionals.
"It was kind of like Shark Tank," Cruzen said. "We had to create the whole pitch deck and put numbers into it, like how much it would cost to make and how much money we would be asking for. It felt like an actual business proposal."
Cruzen (far right) poses with fellow student-athletes during the 2026 NCAA Fall Legacy Lab in Indianapolis. Cruzen was one of 47 participants selected from across all three NCAA divisions.
For Cruzen, presenting the idea to people with real-world experience made the exercise particularly valuable.
"You weren't just presenting to somebody who was pretending to be an investor," Cruzen added. "These were people who are actually involved in business and have been in those meetings before. Being able to learn from people who actually do it was really cool."
The program also introduced Cruzen to areas of business she had not previously considered in depth.
Sessions covered topics such as forming an LLC, protecting a business legally, understanding finances and learning how an idea must eventually be turned into something consumers can understand and use.
It reinforced one of the primary lessons Cruzen took away from the weekend: having an idea is only the beginning.
"You can have a really good idea, but you also have to know how you're going to make it work," Cruzen said. "You have to understand how to present it, how you're going to pay for it and how you're going to get other people to believe in it."
While the classroom-style sessions gave Cruzen practical business knowledge, some of the most valuable moments came outside of them.
Legacy Lab brought CEOs, entrepreneurs and other professionals into the program for networking opportunities, giving participants the chance to practice introducing themselves, explaining their experiences and building professional relationships.
Cruzen poses with leadership speaker and performance coach Charles L. Bailey Jr. during the 2026 NCAA Fall Legacy Lab in Indianapolis.
That was where Cruzen began to recognize just how distinctive her own story could be.
As a Division I soccer student-athlete attending a military college, Cruzen found that mentioning The Citadel immediately generated questions.
"I would tell people, 'I go to The Citadel. It's a military school, I'm a girl and I'm on the soccer team,' and they would immediately want to know more," Cruzen said. "It made me realize that those things separate me from the average person. It gives you something that people remember, especially when you're networking."
The experience helped Cruzen better understand the value of personal branding and the importance of taking advantage of the relationships she has already begun building.
Cruzen connected with student-athletes, entrepreneurs and business professionals throughout the Legacy Lab experience.
It also gave new meaning to something she had discussed before leaving for Indianapolis.
When Cruzen was originally selected for Legacy Lab, she said she wanted to learn more about who she was beyond being an athlete. After returning, that question has not necessarily been answered completely, but she now feels better equipped to begin answering it.
"I think that's one of the biggest things I got out of it," Cruzen said. "There were all these people my age who are trying to figure out what comes next, too. You don't have to already have everything figured out. You just have to be willing to learn, meet people and take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of you."
That willingness to keep learning may ultimately be Cruzen's biggest takeaway.
Soccer remains an important part of her identity, but after four days in Indianapolis, she returned to Charleston with new interests, new connections and a better understanding of how the skills developed as a cadet-athlete can carry into whatever comes next.
Cruzen and fellow Legacy Lab participants spend time exploring Indianapolis during the four-day program.
"I think more people should take advantage of opportunities like this," Cruzen said. "You get to meet people, learn things you probably wouldn't learn otherwise and start thinking about your future in a different way. I'm really glad I went."
For Cruzen, Legacy Lab was not about having the rest of her career mapped out before returning home, but rather realizing she has the tools to start building it today.
