LAKELAND, Fla. – Florida Southern College women's cross country and track head coach Stephanie Bylander has announced that she will be departing the program after eight years at the helm of the Moccasins. Bylander will be stepping away to become the inaugural head men's and women's cross country coach at Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland.
 
"Coach Bylander has been an outstanding leader and mentor to our women's cross country and track student-athletes," said Director of Athletics and Dean of Wellness Drew Howard. "She has guided the women's cross country and track team to be one of the top academic programs not just at Florida Southern but among the entire NCAA Division II community. She will truly be missed, and we wish her all the best in the future."
 
Over her eight years leading the Mocs, Bylander has guided FSC to seven top-five finishes at the Sunshine State Conference Cross Country Championships including finishing second at the 2024 event. Her teams have finished top-five at the NCAA South Region Championship four times and 11 individuals have earned All-South Region honors. She helped guide Emma Mussante (2021-25) to SSC co-Runner of the Year honors in 2023. Bylander's student-athletes have earned a total of 10 USTFCCCA All-South Region honors in cross country.
 
"In my 11 years at Florida Southern, and eight years as the women's head cross country and track coach, I've been incredibly fortunate to be given opportunities to grow the women's programs thanks to the support and mentorship of Drew Howard, Jill Stephens, and also recently retired Al Green, as well as so many other amazing staff members in the FSC athletics department," said Bylander. "I look forward to watching both the men's and women's programs continue to grow over the coming years and will always be a Mocs supporter…GO MOCS!"
 
On the track, she was instrumental in helping make outdoor track an official Sunshine State Conference sponsored sport and also helped start the indoor track program at Florida Southern. At the inaugural Sunshine State Conference Outdoor Track Championships in 2025, her team finished fifth overall with two student-athletes earning All-SSC honors including Mya Stam (2021-25) taking third in the 10,000m and Mussante claiming second place in the 5,000m. Bylander has guided five student-athletes to a total of eight USTFCCCA All-South Region Outdoor Track honors over the last six seasons.
 
Bylander first arrived on campus at Florida Southern prior to the 2015 cross country season as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's cross country and track programs. After three years as an assistant coach, she was promoted as the women's cross country and track head coach. Prior to Florida Southern, Bylander was a coach at Woodland Park High School in Woodland, Colo. and an assistant track and field coach at Sangre De Cristo Middle School in Mosca, Colo.
 
As a student-athlete, Bylander was a 10-time All-American (four-time cross country, five-time outdoor track, one-time indoor track) at Adams State from 2001-05 and a member of Grizzlies' Division II National Champion Cross Country teams in both 2003 and 2004. She also placed in the top three at a National Championship four times, was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Athlete of the Year and the North Central Region Athlete of the Year in 2004.
 
Bylander was also a standout in the classroom as she was a four-time member of the USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams.
 
Her post-collegiate career includes seven Top-15 finishes at USATF Championship events as well as a fifth-place finish at the NACAC Cross Country Championships in 2007. Bylander was also a four-time member of the USA National Team and was 12th at the USATF 8K Cross Country Championships in 2006. 
 
Bylander's personal best in the 5K was 16:14 while her 10K PR was 34:00.
 
Bylander, who holds a USATF Level 1 Coaching Certification, earned her Bachelor of Arts in exercise physiology and exercise science from Adams State in 2005.
 
She is married to Matt Levassiur, the head coach of the Florida Southern College men's cross country and track teams. The couple has a daughter, Allie.
 
Levassiur will take over as the head coach of both the men's and women's cross country and track teams at Florida Southern with Bylander's departure.