Marshall University Athletics
The Woodrums: A Match Made in Herd Sports
4/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
By CHRIS DICKERSON
Herd Insider Columnist
           HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- It's spring, and love is in the air.
           The signs nearly are everywhere, even around Marshall's campus.
           But when you think of athletic teams, romance usually isn't the first thought that comes to mind.
           Joe and Alyssa Woodrum might change that.
           Joe is a redshirt senior tight end from Bluefield for the Thundering Herd football team, and Alyssa, from West Hamlin, is a redshirt junior first baseman for the Herd softball team.
           They met on campus, fell in love and married last summer.
     "We actually met at an FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) meeting," Joe said. "That was in the fall of 2012."
           Was it love at first sight?
           "I would say maybe not at first sight, but it was pretty close," said Joe, who turns 23 on April 22. "Actually, she had added me on Facebook before that FCA meeting. When she first added me, I was like, `This girl is pretty cute.' But I didn't think anything of it.
           "Then, I saw her at FCA and I was like, `OK, there she is again. Maybe I should go up and say hey to her.'"
           They ended up in the same small Bible study group.
           "We didn't really talk in the group, but at the second FCA meeting I actually went up and talked to her. You know, small talk. Nothing big. We talked for a little bit.
           "Later that night, I was thinking, `This girl is pretty cool.' So, I messaged her on Facebook because I didn't have her number. We talked there a little bit, I asked her for her number. Then we started texting and hanging out."
           The former Alyssa Cook said the first time Joe suggested getting together, she blew him off ... but said she had a good excuse.
           "I was with one of my teammates, and he was with one of his teammates," Alyssa, 21, said. "I didn't want to hang out because it was Taco Tuesday, and we were planning to watch a Disney movie.
           So, I blew him off for tacos."
           Despite Alyssa's love of Mexican food, the relationship blossomed. They were married June 28, 2014 in Kenova in a nice outdoor ceremony at the home of Alyssa's aunt, Connie McCoy. It's the same place her parents -- Keith and Bobbi Cook -- were married.
           Both said being a student-athlete doesn't make their marriage more difficult. The only challenge apparently is feeding Joe. It take a lot of tacos -- or anything else -- to satisfy a college football player's appetite.
           "The amount of food intake that Joe requires," Alyssa said with a chuckle. "I have never had to cook before we got married. Now, I have to cook, but it's not just for two!"
           Now, as the couple approaches their first anniversary, both of them are busy. Alyssa is in the middle of softball season. Joe is in the middle of spring practices.
           The NCAA and Marshall don't keep track of the number of student-athletes who are married. But the number of married collegiate athletes is small, and the number of those married to another college athlete is even smaller.
           In addition to athletics, the Woodrums both have a full plate of school work. Alyssa is a senior academically majoring in communications disorders. Joe is working on his MBA after earning a degree in finance.
           In many ways, the Woodrums already are "an old married couple."
           "Sometimes, when we both have busy days, we'll just be seeing each other at night," Joe said. "She'll have classes, meetings and practice or a game. We try to go out to dinner together. We try to hang out at night mostly.
           "We're pretty boring, actually."
           Alyssa agreed.
           "We try to get all of our stuff done so we have our evenings as free as we can," she said, noting they spend a lot of their down time together at their apartment with their golden retriever, Gracie.
           They said having their athletic seasons at different times of the year helps.
           "When I'm really busy, she's not as busy," Joe said. "And when she's really busy, I'm not as busy."
           And, they try to make as many of each other's games as they can.
           "When she's playing at home, I'm usually right there," the Herd tight end and special teams regular said. "It is hard to get to a lot of the away games with classes and spring ball.
           "She is (majoring) in communication disorders, so she's packed with a lot of school work. I am too, but hers is more demanding. I'm in the MBA program right now, studying finance. In the MBA program, you are only allowed nine hours, but they're challenging."
           Last Wednesday, for example, the softball team was scheduled to play at Kentucky, a game that was curbed by weather. Joe didn't have spring drills that day, so he planned to drive to Lexington with offensive lineman Tom Collins to watch the game.
           The Woodrums are excited about their future together. First on the radar is their first anniversary this summer.
           "We're still thinking about what we want to do," Joe said. "We love going up to the Summersville/Craigsville area. We might just do that. It'll be good."
           After that, Joe said he has another year of grad school. Alyssa also plans to start grad school. They see kids in their future, but not immediately.
           "I'm thinking I'll probably do something at a bank, or I might do some financial planning," Joe said. "There are a couple of tests I'd have to take, but I've been considering that. There are a lot of options."
           "I want to be a speech pathologist and work in nursing homes for people with strokes," Alyssa said.
           "We're going to stay here in West Virginia," Joe continued. "We both love the mountains. It's home."
           The Woodrums said their marriage is proof that it can be done.
           "If we can do it, anybody can do it," Joe said. "We're married. We have a dog. We both play a sport. We're both studying with hard majors. We're defeating the odds."
           Chris Dickerson, a Marshall alumnus and adjunct journalism professor at MU, is a columnist for the Herd Insider. This column appears in in the current issue (dated April 16).
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