Momentum on and off the field, change at the top, historic moments and a little bit of drama in between − Memphis experienced a little of everything the past year.

In time, 2023-24 may be viewed as one of the most pivotal athletic years in Tigers history. The football program, coming off an upset win in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, are poised to pounce on their College Football Playoff aspirations. Penny Hardaway's basketball program eyes a bounce-back after missing out on March Madness.

As Memphis prepares to start a new athletic calendar, here are the top 10 storylines in Memphis athletics from the past year, in chronological order:

Women’s soccer wins AAC title, reaches 2nd consecutive Sweet 16

By far Memphis’ most successful team in 2023-2024, women’s soccer rode its dominant defense all the way to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 – winning the AAC regular season and tournament titles in the process. Mya Jones, Haylee Spray, Momo Nakao, Kaylie Bierman, Anna Hauer and coach Brooks Monaghan helped Memphis sweep AAC awards, and then Jones became the first ever Tiger selected in the NWSL draft.

Leftwich Tennis Center: A long time coming

Two-and-a-half years in the making, the new Leftwich Tennis Center was unveiled in November. A total of $26.5 million went into the upgrades. The men's team (19-7 overall) went 9-2 at home, including three wins over ranked opponents.

Football wins Liberty Bowl – and sets up sky-high expectations

Football got a de facto home game in late December and made the most of it, cruising past Iowa State as 9.5-point underdogs. That came a few weeks after quarterback Seth Henigan and receiver Roc Taylor announced they’d return for 2024 and a few weeks before coach Ryan Silverfield signed a contract extension – and now the Tigers have College Football Playoff expectations next season.

The Williams sagas

DeAndre Williams and Mikey Williams. Perhaps as riveting as almost anything that happened on the Memphis basketball court last season was drawn-out sagas of a pair of players with the same last name although not related. DeAndre Williams wanted to play another season for the Tigers. He gave it everything he had but only days before the season began the NCAA ultimately did not rule in his favor. Mikey Williams' months-long legal drama concluded in December and kept him off the court at Memphis completely.

Men’s soccer wins first ever NCAA tournament game

Men’s soccer hit an obvious high-water mark in 2023 as Richard Mulrooney in his 10th season as coach led the Tigers to their first ever NCAA Tournament win. They did it in front of a home crowd at the Track and Soccer Complex, thanks to a brace from Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos.

Gabriela Zych has breakout season for Memphis rifle

As far as individual performances go, it might be hard to top what Zych did in 2024. The sophomore rewrote the Memphis record books, establishing a school best for smallbore and aggregate and tying the program mark for air rifle. And, to top it off, she was named a first team All-American for air rifle.

Memphis finalizes Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium renovation plans

A story that has spanned more than just this past year, Memphis finally pushed forward on renovations to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. A $50 million donation from FedEx founder Fred Smith helped, as did $120 million in state money that was finally allocated by City Council in January. There’s still plenty to be done – but the hardest part appears to be done.

Penny Hardaway's Tigers collapse

Everything started so well. Memphis got off to a 15-2 start, earning a spot in the AP poll top 10. Then, it all fell apart. A key player (Caleb Mills) got hurt. Players who were supposed to be key (Jaykwon Walton, Jordan Brown), weren't. An academic misconduct investigation cropped up at the worst possible time. And the Tigers missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021.

FedEx and NIL

Just when it appeared NIL funding gap between Memphis and many of the Power Five schools was widening, FedEx founder Fred Smith stepped in. In a landmark deal that was announced in April, the Memphis-based logistics giant committed $5 million annually for the next five years, putting Tigers athletics in an enviably competitive position for the foreseeable future.

AD Laird Veatch heads to Missouri

One of the architects of the athletic department's increasing momentum, athletic director Laird Veatch stepped down in April to accept the same position at Missouri. It's the first time since 2019 that Memphis has been in the market for a new athletic director.

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis athletics' top 10 storylines from 2023-24