Isabel Hinojosa ’25
Staff Writer
After Jim Catanzaro stepped down as Lake Forest College’s Athletic Director, a new face to the school, Nicki Pieart, began her role in the position on March 1. Feeling very welcome in her new community, her job recently has been making connections with her coworkers, her staff, and the student athletes that she is here to serve.
Pieart’s journey to this position as athletic director was not linear. “I have worked in college athletics for about 18 years or so, and I started out in my undergrad wanting to pursue athletic training,” she explained. “At the time, I was interested in physical therapy and medicine but loved sports. (Sports) was a huge part of my identity and my life.”
Graduating from Aurora University in 2004, Pieart is familiar with Midwest collegiate sports. “I played basketball and soccer. I played soccer my first two years, but I got injured my sophomore year in soccer,” Pieart recalled. “I tore my ACL, MCL, and meniscus, so it was quite the recovery. By the time you hit your junior year from an educational standpoint, they want you to focus on one sport so that you have the time to get in the appropriate clinical hours that you need to satisfy the requirements of the major, so my junior and senior year I finished up with basketball.”
After graduation, Pieart worked at Aurora for 14 years in their athletics department. “It really provided me with the opportunity to learn and grow and take on more responsibilities. I just become more instrumental in the administration of the athletics department, and I just fell in love with it,” Pieart reflected.
Although she has only been in this position for a month, Pieart can already tell that the Forest is a unique place. “It’s a great staff,” Pieart said. “There’s an excellent foundation here for what we’re doing athletically, academically, and I think the one thing that I’m seeing that really sets us apart from some of our other competitors is this focus on career.”
Pieart is determined to offer her student athletes an exceptional collegiate experience both in academics and athletics. “Not only are we providing an exceptional experience for the student athletes, but also really preparing them for the next steps,” Pieart explained. “I love that we’re doing that, and in doing so I think that we’re also building our support and rapport with the alumni base.”
Another goal of Pieart’s as she begins this role is “cross-campus collaboration.”
“My day consists of starting dialogue and conversation with folks across campus. Cross-campus collaboration is something that I value and something that I really was involved with at Aurora,” she said.
However, Pieart also has big plans looking forward. “I think one thing that I’m looking to especially lean into next year is to really reengage the excitement in the campus community for coming to games and watching the Foresters in action,” she said. “I think that would be one great component that would really help add to the day-to-day excitement not only for the athletes but also for the students.”
Most importantly, Pieart is looking to continue to hold our athletics program to the high bar we have set for ourselves. “We know our identity, we know our values, and we are constantly working to deliver on those core values,” she said.
