DePaul University Athletics
An Athletic Director’s Heartfelt Tribute to Her Incredible Staff
8/21/2020 12:29:00 PM | ATHLETICS
Jean Lenti Ponsetto celebrates her colleagues’ overwhelming success stories
CHICAGO – During hospitalization for a serious medical condition a handful of years ago, a DePaul Athletics staff member was pleasantly surprised to receive a deeply appreciated phone call.
It was DePaul Athletics Director Jean Lenti Ponsetto voicing her concern for a valued co-worker and friend. The uplifting conversation did wonders for the spirit and strengthened the resolve to overcome a difficult ordeal.
It was simply the way "Jeanne" ran her operation at the Sullivan Athletic Center in Lincoln Park. Another day, this family-first administrator would be sending flowers during a time of mourning or welcoming a staff member's wife and children into the AD suite.
Barring the need for a private conversation, Ponsetto maintained a perpetual open-door policy. Stop in and share a little piece of your personal life, enjoy a few laughs and be sure to sample a bakery treat on the way out.
That was just Jeanne's way.
In some ways, she embodied a precious slice of Americana from a bygone era during a more simple time when folks could afford to let their guard down in a place where everybody knew your name. You could take up temporary refuge in her office suite, away from the stress and anxiety of the world we now live in.
And as Ponsetto turns the last few pages on a storybook DePaul career encompassing 45 consecutive years as a student-athlete, coach and administrator, there is a fierce sense of urgency on her part to reveal the countless success stories of her colleagues while putting aside her third go-around battling breast cancer.
This is just Jeanne's way.
Athletics staff workers traditionally do yeoman's work with little fanfare, willingly accepting that their lot in life is making magic happen behind the scenes while working long nights and weekends.
Industry-wide, they are by-and-large good-hearted, modest people who prefer not to toot their own horn, feeling a bit uncomfortable being called out to center-stage under the glare of bright lights.
Humility ruled the day in Lincoln Park. But with the extraordinary circumstance of Ponsetto's impending retirement, the leader who always looked out for others ahead of herself wanted to share with the world the amazing story of her athletics staff.
Team Ponsetto By The Numbers
57 Conference Championships
154 Individual Sport Conference Champions
87 NCAA APR Public Recognition Awards
28 Conference Coaches/ Coaching Staff of the Year Awards
34 Academic All Americans
"Our staff has done amazing work across the board," Ponsetto said. "I tell them all the time that you do all the heavy lifting while people give me the credit. This is the perfect time to share their wonderful story.
"I have been acknowledged for my leadership over the years, and I'm super flattered to receive all the awards and accolades from places like NACDA (National Association of College Directors of Athletics), Women's Leaders in College Sports, Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame and others.
"I stand on the really broad shoulders of our staff and coaches, and I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work so closely with such exceptional colleagues. They have sacrificed time with their own families to become servant-leaders for our student-athletes."
With the thoroughness of a meticulous attorney, Ponsetto presented irrefutable evidence in making her case.
"You can see their tremendous success in all the NCAA tournament appearances, conference championships, coach-of-the-year honors and the countless individual awards presented to our coaches and student-athletes," she said.
"Equally as impressive are all the national accolades, conference awards and recognition in the academic arena as well as community service. The leadership of our staff and coaches is evident by how our student-athletes live out the Vincentian mission.
"You can see it in the professions they choose becoming doctors, nurses and healthcare workers. Others become devoted educators and teachers. There are those who evolve into highly successful attorneys and business people who continue looking out for and helping people in need.
"It has been my privilege to be the leader of this immensely talented group for the last 18 years."
How did she create a culture that attracted such a talented group always mindful to check their egos at the Sullivan Center revolving door each morning?
"We put our staff together by assembling professionals who believe in our strategic plan of developing scholars, champions and servant leaders," Ponsetto said. "It is an intellectually skillful team of innovative risk-takers pushing the boundaries of our resources in serving our student-athletes, donors, season ticketholders, university community and fans everywhere.
"The culture is rooted in respecting the dignity of every person and championing the strengths of who we are collectively in service to our student-athletes and all the constituencies we serve."
In these times of cutbacks at athletics programs nationwide as a concession to the devastating effects of an ongoing pandemic, Ponsetto & Co. have conducted a veritable clinic on doing more with less. The Blue Demons are among the smallest staffs in the BIG EAST.
"In comparison to our peers, DePaul is small in number but mighty in productivity," Ponsetto said. "Highlighted by an incredibly competitive work ethic and a dedicated commitment to our student-athletes and coaches, the athletics staff goes above and beyond providing the best support systems to engender winning outcomes in the classroom, in competition and in becoming socially responsible leaders."
In a labor of love, Ponsetto documented the numerous achievements of her colleagues.
"We all owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to our athletics staff," she started out. "The superlatives---especially when you look at how well we outperform our resources when compared to our peers---speaks volumes about the unwavering commitment of this team of innovators. My gratitude is abundant to an amazing team of professionals past and present that walked this journey with me.
"Our award-winning Integrated Marketing and Branding Department continues to impress year-in and year-out as is evidenced by all the NAMCA awards over the past several years. Karen Uhler, Karen Loiacono, Alicia Pope and Roger Uy more than do their part promoting the stories and brand of DePaul Athletics while playing a significant role in generating the revenue that helps keep our university subsidy on the lower end of Division I institutions.
"Enter our outstanding Ticket Office teammates generating revenue that is one of the engines that supports our program. Captained by Marty Murphy and starring Jillian Domin and Bob Krawchuk, nobody can compete with this group when it comes to customer service and taking the time to know our season ticketholders, alumni, donors and friends of DePaul Athletics while welcoming everyone into our athletics community."
Ponsetto was just getting started.
"Greg Greenwell is an outstanding creator and innovator heading up Athletics Communications," she continued. "He has hired talented writers and storytellers over the years, managed the rebuild of our athletics website three times in his career, produced numerous events on DePaul All Access and BIG EAST Digital Network while mentoring a multitude of undergraduate and graduate students wanting to gain invaluable experience at his guiding hand.
"The award-winning and masterful storytelling of Bob Sakamoto has been recognized nine of his 11 years at DePaul as a first-place winner in the nationwide CoSIDA Fred Stabley Writing Contest. Bob cranks out an incredible amount of content with a beautiful writing style that captivates his audiences."
When it comes to fundraising, Athletics Development has done a remarkable job.
"I am so incredibly proud of the good work that Thad Dohrn and his team of Bryan Duby and Andrea Clark have produced," Ponsetto said. "Thad has done a terrific job keeping DePaul Athletics connected to our alumni while introducing new friends and donors to our community."
During Ponsetto's 18 years heading up the department, Dohrn & Co. have secured nine gifts of a million dollars or more.
"Under his leadership, we completed fundraising for Wintrust Arena, Sullivan Athletic Center, Cacciatore Stadium, Wish Field, Cherry Family Track, Lane Stadium Track and the Short Game Facility at Ruffled Feathers Golf Club," Ponsetto noted. "His team has also raised funds for 51 new athletics scholarships.
"Since the inception of the Blue Demon Challenge, our department has been at the top of the university's leaderboard in fundraising and numbers of donors. They have a creative, innovative and enthusiastic desire to give DePaul student-athletes and coaches all they need to be successful."
Ponsetto was on a roll recounting the vast depth of contributions from her hard-working staff.
"Our business affairs team of Carolyn Lewis and Erin McGovern are tireless in their efforts to maximize every dollar of our budget," she said. "I am so grateful and appreciative of their common-sense approach toward managing our resources and creating efficiencies when they didn't seem likely. I cannot thank them enough for finishing 17 of our last 18 years in the black. What an amazing accomplishment!
"Mike Lenti and his Facilities team Pat Teahan, Blair Banwart and RJ Pavlacka work their magic every day in scheduling and maintaining our facilities, equipment and athletics gear. I marvel when I look at each day's calendar of events and see how much we seamlessly pack into every facility.
"The same is true of our Sports Medicine and Sports Performance/Strength and Conditioning staffs---Sue Walsh, Mike Sommer, Jimmy Duba, Ryan Nosek, Anna Zamora and Richard Lee do a remarkable job preparing our student-athletes for training and competition. Their experience and professionalism is off the charts providing structure and preparation that has led to our teams' success over the years.
"It is somewhat miraculous that Strength and Conditioning and Sports Medicine can hold their own in training and treating student-athletes with the Power Five Conference schools and their vast, seemingly endless resources and facilities."
DePaul might be one of the rare Division I institutions that actually stress academics equally if not more than athletics. It's no wonder Ponsetto takes particular pride in touting the leading-edge efforts of Athletics Academic Advising. Despite a raging pandemic, struggling economy, nationwide social justice protesting and online learning, the Blue Demons posted an eye-popping 3.712 spring quarter GPA.
"Our Triple-A staff headed by Kate O'Brien and supported by Ben Gutman and Terri Sullivan teach, guide, advise and motivate our student-athletes to look beyond their potential in challenging their intellect and competing in the classroom," Ponsetto said. "They advocate an understanding that the work ethic put forth in the classroom will carry over to practice and competition while also developing work habits that push their intellect.
"And it works time and time again as evidenced by our overall cumulative GPAs year-in and year-out. This year our student-athletes posted a 3.556 cumulative GPA, leading the BIG EAST in team academic awards eight of the last 10 years and every DePaul team had a final GPA higher than 3.0."
The definition of working under the radar may well be the NCAA Athletics Compliance staff headed by Kim Smith along with Maggie Strus. Theirs is the thankless task of constant vigilance and making sure coaches and staff adhere to a voluminous set of NCAA rules.
"DePaul has been blessed to have some of the best in the business head up our NCAA Rules Compliance operation," Ponsetto said. "Kim and Maggie work tirelessly to support our coaches and student-athletes with their superb understanding of the letter and intent of the rules. They make a difficult job look easy with their creativity and service-minded approach. Extremely useful in a strong compliance office is that both have a great smile when they have to say 'no.'"
Whenever Ponsetto is out of town on NCAA or BIG EAST business, she has no qualms about senior associate athletics directors Peter Tombasco and Jill Hollembeak running the show.
"I have been so incredibly fortunate to have Peter Tombasco and Jill Hollembeak as my next-in-command," Ponsetto said. "I so value and appreciate their wisdom and counsel.
"Peter has done an outstanding job overseeing corporate sponsorships, the ticket office, athletics facilities, our television and radio partnerships while also serving as the sport administrator for men's tennis, our liaison to the BIG EAST for men's basketball scheduling and our liaison to Wintrust Arena. His love and loyalty to DePaul make his work seem effortless.
"He has forged long-lasting relationships with every partnership he has created while he and his team have generated millions of dollars of athletics revenue supporting our student-athletes' quest for excellence. His oversight of men's tennis has seen that team move from the middle of the BIG EAST to the top. Peter's leadership has been significant to our overall success the last 18 years.
"Jill has a boundless energy and an infectious passion for teaching and coaching. That same competitive drive she brought as a world-class athlete shines through in every conversation while mentoring our coaches or teaching our student-athletes.
"Her experience building athletic programs as a coach is evident with our student-athletes' success in the classroom and in the successful athletics programs she oversees (men's and women's cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field, softball, men's and women's soccer, volleyball and women's tennis). Like Peter, Jill's leadership and commitment is unsurpassed in moving DePaul Athletics forward."
There are others working behind the scenes, and while their contributions may sometimes go unnoticed, Athletics would have a hard time operating without them.
"A heartfelt thanks to Katie Ramsey, Nancy Graham and PaulaMarie Moore for all the many ways they support our coaches and student-athletes every day when they walk into our offices," Ponsetto said. "Your care and concern for all is what makes our athletics community so special.
"And a special thanks to Spirit Teams coordinator Shanon Lersch and Screamin' Demon Band director Jeff Livorsi for all the affinity, energy and fun they bring to our events with our outstanding spirit squads and one of the best college pep bands in the nation."
Looking back on the last 18 years, Ponsetto's staff members and coaches have helped her earn some illustrious accolades and accomplishments.
*Completion of seven facilities projects after meeting or exceeding fundraising goals
*More $300 million in athletics revenues generated while reducing the university's subsidy to Athletics by 50 percent during her regime.
*A combined 62 years of service including multiple years simultaneously on more than one NCAA committee and affiliate organizations highlighted by leadership roles as Vice Chair of the NCAA Council, Chairperson of the NCAA Division I Championships Cabinet, Chairperson of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee, Chairperson of the NCAA Women's Basketball Oversight Committee, First Vice President of NACDA, President of Women Leaders in College Sports (formerly NACWAA) and Chairperson of the Collegiate Women's Sports Award.
*Impacting a total of 11 institutions after being instrumental as a founding leader of the reconfigured BIG EAST Conference
*Three Hall of Fame inductions (DePaul University, Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame and the National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame)
"It has been my honor and privilege to work alongside such wonderfully compassionate, deeply loyal and exceptionally talented human beings," Ponsetto said. "They have sacrificed time with their own families to help raise the Blue Demon family of student-athletes and set them on a course of professional success while rising up as leaders of their generation."
It was DePaul Athletics Director Jean Lenti Ponsetto voicing her concern for a valued co-worker and friend. The uplifting conversation did wonders for the spirit and strengthened the resolve to overcome a difficult ordeal.
It was simply the way "Jeanne" ran her operation at the Sullivan Athletic Center in Lincoln Park. Another day, this family-first administrator would be sending flowers during a time of mourning or welcoming a staff member's wife and children into the AD suite.
Barring the need for a private conversation, Ponsetto maintained a perpetual open-door policy. Stop in and share a little piece of your personal life, enjoy a few laughs and be sure to sample a bakery treat on the way out.
That was just Jeanne's way.
In some ways, she embodied a precious slice of Americana from a bygone era during a more simple time when folks could afford to let their guard down in a place where everybody knew your name. You could take up temporary refuge in her office suite, away from the stress and anxiety of the world we now live in.
And as Ponsetto turns the last few pages on a storybook DePaul career encompassing 45 consecutive years as a student-athlete, coach and administrator, there is a fierce sense of urgency on her part to reveal the countless success stories of her colleagues while putting aside her third go-around battling breast cancer.
This is just Jeanne's way.
Athletics staff workers traditionally do yeoman's work with little fanfare, willingly accepting that their lot in life is making magic happen behind the scenes while working long nights and weekends.
Industry-wide, they are by-and-large good-hearted, modest people who prefer not to toot their own horn, feeling a bit uncomfortable being called out to center-stage under the glare of bright lights.
Humility ruled the day in Lincoln Park. But with the extraordinary circumstance of Ponsetto's impending retirement, the leader who always looked out for others ahead of herself wanted to share with the world the amazing story of her athletics staff.
Team Ponsetto By The Numbers
57 Conference Championships
154 Individual Sport Conference Champions
87 NCAA APR Public Recognition Awards
28 Conference Coaches/ Coaching Staff of the Year Awards
34 Academic All Americans
"Our staff has done amazing work across the board," Ponsetto said. "I tell them all the time that you do all the heavy lifting while people give me the credit. This is the perfect time to share their wonderful story.
"I have been acknowledged for my leadership over the years, and I'm super flattered to receive all the awards and accolades from places like NACDA (National Association of College Directors of Athletics), Women's Leaders in College Sports, Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame and others.
"I stand on the really broad shoulders of our staff and coaches, and I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work so closely with such exceptional colleagues. They have sacrificed time with their own families to become servant-leaders for our student-athletes."
With the thoroughness of a meticulous attorney, Ponsetto presented irrefutable evidence in making her case.
"You can see their tremendous success in all the NCAA tournament appearances, conference championships, coach-of-the-year honors and the countless individual awards presented to our coaches and student-athletes," she said.
"Equally as impressive are all the national accolades, conference awards and recognition in the academic arena as well as community service. The leadership of our staff and coaches is evident by how our student-athletes live out the Vincentian mission.
"You can see it in the professions they choose becoming doctors, nurses and healthcare workers. Others become devoted educators and teachers. There are those who evolve into highly successful attorneys and business people who continue looking out for and helping people in need.
"It has been my privilege to be the leader of this immensely talented group for the last 18 years."
How did she create a culture that attracted such a talented group always mindful to check their egos at the Sullivan Center revolving door each morning?
"We put our staff together by assembling professionals who believe in our strategic plan of developing scholars, champions and servant leaders," Ponsetto said. "It is an intellectually skillful team of innovative risk-takers pushing the boundaries of our resources in serving our student-athletes, donors, season ticketholders, university community and fans everywhere.
"The culture is rooted in respecting the dignity of every person and championing the strengths of who we are collectively in service to our student-athletes and all the constituencies we serve."
In these times of cutbacks at athletics programs nationwide as a concession to the devastating effects of an ongoing pandemic, Ponsetto & Co. have conducted a veritable clinic on doing more with less. The Blue Demons are among the smallest staffs in the BIG EAST.
"In comparison to our peers, DePaul is small in number but mighty in productivity," Ponsetto said. "Highlighted by an incredibly competitive work ethic and a dedicated commitment to our student-athletes and coaches, the athletics staff goes above and beyond providing the best support systems to engender winning outcomes in the classroom, in competition and in becoming socially responsible leaders."
In a labor of love, Ponsetto documented the numerous achievements of her colleagues.
"We all owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to our athletics staff," she started out. "The superlatives---especially when you look at how well we outperform our resources when compared to our peers---speaks volumes about the unwavering commitment of this team of innovators. My gratitude is abundant to an amazing team of professionals past and present that walked this journey with me.
"Our award-winning Integrated Marketing and Branding Department continues to impress year-in and year-out as is evidenced by all the NAMCA awards over the past several years. Karen Uhler, Karen Loiacono, Alicia Pope and Roger Uy more than do their part promoting the stories and brand of DePaul Athletics while playing a significant role in generating the revenue that helps keep our university subsidy on the lower end of Division I institutions.
"Enter our outstanding Ticket Office teammates generating revenue that is one of the engines that supports our program. Captained by Marty Murphy and starring Jillian Domin and Bob Krawchuk, nobody can compete with this group when it comes to customer service and taking the time to know our season ticketholders, alumni, donors and friends of DePaul Athletics while welcoming everyone into our athletics community."
Ponsetto was just getting started.
"Greg Greenwell is an outstanding creator and innovator heading up Athletics Communications," she continued. "He has hired talented writers and storytellers over the years, managed the rebuild of our athletics website three times in his career, produced numerous events on DePaul All Access and BIG EAST Digital Network while mentoring a multitude of undergraduate and graduate students wanting to gain invaluable experience at his guiding hand.
"The award-winning and masterful storytelling of Bob Sakamoto has been recognized nine of his 11 years at DePaul as a first-place winner in the nationwide CoSIDA Fred Stabley Writing Contest. Bob cranks out an incredible amount of content with a beautiful writing style that captivates his audiences."
When it comes to fundraising, Athletics Development has done a remarkable job.
"I am so incredibly proud of the good work that Thad Dohrn and his team of Bryan Duby and Andrea Clark have produced," Ponsetto said. "Thad has done a terrific job keeping DePaul Athletics connected to our alumni while introducing new friends and donors to our community."
During Ponsetto's 18 years heading up the department, Dohrn & Co. have secured nine gifts of a million dollars or more.
"Under his leadership, we completed fundraising for Wintrust Arena, Sullivan Athletic Center, Cacciatore Stadium, Wish Field, Cherry Family Track, Lane Stadium Track and the Short Game Facility at Ruffled Feathers Golf Club," Ponsetto noted. "His team has also raised funds for 51 new athletics scholarships.
"Since the inception of the Blue Demon Challenge, our department has been at the top of the university's leaderboard in fundraising and numbers of donors. They have a creative, innovative and enthusiastic desire to give DePaul student-athletes and coaches all they need to be successful."
Ponsetto was on a roll recounting the vast depth of contributions from her hard-working staff.
"Our business affairs team of Carolyn Lewis and Erin McGovern are tireless in their efforts to maximize every dollar of our budget," she said. "I am so grateful and appreciative of their common-sense approach toward managing our resources and creating efficiencies when they didn't seem likely. I cannot thank them enough for finishing 17 of our last 18 years in the black. What an amazing accomplishment!
"Mike Lenti and his Facilities team Pat Teahan, Blair Banwart and RJ Pavlacka work their magic every day in scheduling and maintaining our facilities, equipment and athletics gear. I marvel when I look at each day's calendar of events and see how much we seamlessly pack into every facility.
"The same is true of our Sports Medicine and Sports Performance/Strength and Conditioning staffs---Sue Walsh, Mike Sommer, Jimmy Duba, Ryan Nosek, Anna Zamora and Richard Lee do a remarkable job preparing our student-athletes for training and competition. Their experience and professionalism is off the charts providing structure and preparation that has led to our teams' success over the years.
"It is somewhat miraculous that Strength and Conditioning and Sports Medicine can hold their own in training and treating student-athletes with the Power Five Conference schools and their vast, seemingly endless resources and facilities."
DePaul might be one of the rare Division I institutions that actually stress academics equally if not more than athletics. It's no wonder Ponsetto takes particular pride in touting the leading-edge efforts of Athletics Academic Advising. Despite a raging pandemic, struggling economy, nationwide social justice protesting and online learning, the Blue Demons posted an eye-popping 3.712 spring quarter GPA.
"Our Triple-A staff headed by Kate O'Brien and supported by Ben Gutman and Terri Sullivan teach, guide, advise and motivate our student-athletes to look beyond their potential in challenging their intellect and competing in the classroom," Ponsetto said. "They advocate an understanding that the work ethic put forth in the classroom will carry over to practice and competition while also developing work habits that push their intellect.
"And it works time and time again as evidenced by our overall cumulative GPAs year-in and year-out. This year our student-athletes posted a 3.556 cumulative GPA, leading the BIG EAST in team academic awards eight of the last 10 years and every DePaul team had a final GPA higher than 3.0."
The definition of working under the radar may well be the NCAA Athletics Compliance staff headed by Kim Smith along with Maggie Strus. Theirs is the thankless task of constant vigilance and making sure coaches and staff adhere to a voluminous set of NCAA rules.
"DePaul has been blessed to have some of the best in the business head up our NCAA Rules Compliance operation," Ponsetto said. "Kim and Maggie work tirelessly to support our coaches and student-athletes with their superb understanding of the letter and intent of the rules. They make a difficult job look easy with their creativity and service-minded approach. Extremely useful in a strong compliance office is that both have a great smile when they have to say 'no.'"
Whenever Ponsetto is out of town on NCAA or BIG EAST business, she has no qualms about senior associate athletics directors Peter Tombasco and Jill Hollembeak running the show.
"I have been so incredibly fortunate to have Peter Tombasco and Jill Hollembeak as my next-in-command," Ponsetto said. "I so value and appreciate their wisdom and counsel.
"Peter has done an outstanding job overseeing corporate sponsorships, the ticket office, athletics facilities, our television and radio partnerships while also serving as the sport administrator for men's tennis, our liaison to the BIG EAST for men's basketball scheduling and our liaison to Wintrust Arena. His love and loyalty to DePaul make his work seem effortless.
"He has forged long-lasting relationships with every partnership he has created while he and his team have generated millions of dollars of athletics revenue supporting our student-athletes' quest for excellence. His oversight of men's tennis has seen that team move from the middle of the BIG EAST to the top. Peter's leadership has been significant to our overall success the last 18 years.
"Jill has a boundless energy and an infectious passion for teaching and coaching. That same competitive drive she brought as a world-class athlete shines through in every conversation while mentoring our coaches or teaching our student-athletes.
"Her experience building athletic programs as a coach is evident with our student-athletes' success in the classroom and in the successful athletics programs she oversees (men's and women's cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field, softball, men's and women's soccer, volleyball and women's tennis). Like Peter, Jill's leadership and commitment is unsurpassed in moving DePaul Athletics forward."
There are others working behind the scenes, and while their contributions may sometimes go unnoticed, Athletics would have a hard time operating without them.
"A heartfelt thanks to Katie Ramsey, Nancy Graham and PaulaMarie Moore for all the many ways they support our coaches and student-athletes every day when they walk into our offices," Ponsetto said. "Your care and concern for all is what makes our athletics community so special.
"And a special thanks to Spirit Teams coordinator Shanon Lersch and Screamin' Demon Band director Jeff Livorsi for all the affinity, energy and fun they bring to our events with our outstanding spirit squads and one of the best college pep bands in the nation."
Looking back on the last 18 years, Ponsetto's staff members and coaches have helped her earn some illustrious accolades and accomplishments.
*Completion of seven facilities projects after meeting or exceeding fundraising goals
*More $300 million in athletics revenues generated while reducing the university's subsidy to Athletics by 50 percent during her regime.
*A combined 62 years of service including multiple years simultaneously on more than one NCAA committee and affiliate organizations highlighted by leadership roles as Vice Chair of the NCAA Council, Chairperson of the NCAA Division I Championships Cabinet, Chairperson of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee, Chairperson of the NCAA Women's Basketball Oversight Committee, First Vice President of NACDA, President of Women Leaders in College Sports (formerly NACWAA) and Chairperson of the Collegiate Women's Sports Award.
*Impacting a total of 11 institutions after being instrumental as a founding leader of the reconfigured BIG EAST Conference
*Three Hall of Fame inductions (DePaul University, Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame and the National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame)
"It has been my honor and privilege to work alongside such wonderfully compassionate, deeply loyal and exceptionally talented human beings," Ponsetto said. "They have sacrificed time with their own families to help raise the Blue Demon family of student-athletes and set them on a course of professional success while rising up as leaders of their generation."
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