Jean Lenti Ponsetto, Chair
Jean Lenti Ponsetto, Chair
Organization: DePaul University AD Emerita - At Large

Jean Lenti Ponsetto is the current CWSA Chairwoman of the Board and has been a member since 2000. She is in her 11th year as athletics director at DePaul University, and 38th year as a member of the athletics department staff at her alma mater. Ponsetto is regarded as one of the most widely respected leaders in the world of intercollegiate athletics, and at DePaul is credited with the significant expansion and development of a successful athletics program.

Under her direction, DePaul has noted improvements in fundraising, facilities, student-athlete welfare and postseason participation, including a move to join the Big East Conference in 2005. Under Ponsetto, 14 of DePaul’s 15 athletics programs have qualified for NCAA championship competition and over 1,000 student-athletes have been named to conference academic honor rolls. Ponsetto has served in various leadership positions in service to the NCAA and various constituent groups. She was Chairwoman of the NCAA Div. I Women’s Basketball Committee, the NCAA Championships/Competition Cabinet, and the NCAA Basketball Officiating Committee. She was a member of the NCAA/USOC Joint Task Force.

She is on the NACDA Executive Committee and was past president of their Div. I-AAA Athletics Directors Association. Ponsetto chairs the Wade Trophy Selection Committee, is a past president of NACWAA and serves on the Board of Directors of the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the induction class of 2007, joining other sports legends Mike Ditka, Walter Payton, and Michael Jordan.

Ponsetto was inducted to the DePaul Athletic Hall of Fame honoring her collegiate career in tennis, volleyball, women’s basketball and softball. She and her husband, Joe, reside in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood near the DePaul campus.