Lake Forest College Vice President for Career Advancement and Athletics Jackie Slaats announced Tuesday that, following a national search, Jim Catanzaro has been selected as the College's next director of athletics. He will assume the role on July 15, and replace Blake Theisen, who has served in that capacity on an interim basis since 2019. Theisen chose not to pursue the position permanently and will return to his role as associate director of athletics.
Catanzaro is a 15-year member of the athletic department and has been the Foresters' head football coach since 2009. In his role as assistant director of athletics for the last two years, Catanzaro has provided oversight for department-wide sports performance and the Forester Game Plan, a career preparation program for student-athletes, and has taken on a leadership role in several other department initiatives.
Beyond his official duties, Catanzaro has contributed to the College in numerous ways, both in athletics and other areas of the campus community. He was instrumental in the growth of the men's and women's lacrosse programs and coached each of them as club sports. He is one of the original committee members of the College's Coalition Against Sexual Misconduct and has also been a member of the Provisional Honor Council and Intercultural Advisory Group. Catanzaro brought a chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma (Student-Athlete National Honor Society) to campus and has served on Campus Conduct and Athletic Conduct Boards and as the advisor for Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He has also been a part of numerous search committees across campus throughout his tenure. He was the NCAA Division III Football Championship Chairman from 2017-20 and continues to serve on the American Football Coaches Association Board of Trustees. He represented Lake Forest at the Midwest Conference Diversity Summit and speaks regularly about recruiting and other topics in higher education.
As the College's head football coach, Catanzaro has grown the program from 63 to more than 100 players. He led the Foresters to an overall record of 63-50 and a Midwest Conference mark of 45-33 with a league title in 2012. His players have broken or tied team records 124 times and been named All-MWC 115 times over the last 12 years. They have also succeeded in the classroom with 183 Academic All-MWC honors during his tenure, including a program record 30 in 2019-20. In addition, the team's annual Heroes Day efforts have generated more than 360 care packages to be sent to American troops overseas and the squad has raised more than $100,000 in the last decade in Lake Forest's Relay for Life initiative. The College has twice presented the Forester football team with the Program of the Year award for its participation in on-campus events.
Catanzaro graduated from Greenville University, where he was an all-conference football player on both sides of the ball, helped the team capture a conference title his senior season, and also lettered in basketball and tennis. He later earned a master's degree in communications studies from West Virginia University and is currently a doctoral candidate in higher education administration.
Catanzaro, who will continue to serve as head football coach until the end of the 2023 season, becomes Lake Forest's fourth permanent director of athletics since 1959 and each was a head coach at the College prior to accepting that role. He joins Nick Wasylik (athletic director beginning in 1959) and Mike Dau '58 (1975) as football coaches who continued in that capacity during at least some of their time as administrators and Jackie Slaats (1992), who was the head women's basketball and volleyball coach and remained on the sideline in basketball until 2008.
"In a search that produced four strong finalists for the position, Jim Catanzaro emerged as the front runner and I couldn't be more pleased and proud of that result," commented Slaats. "He has made many positive contributions to the College and our athletic department over the course of his 15-year tenure and his commitment to sustained excellence really sets him apart. Commonly known as 'Coach Cat' to students, faculty, staff, and alumni, Jim had widespread support across campus and from members of the search committee. He is a well-respected leader and I look forward to his continued partnership and engagement with our campus community as he assumes this important new position."
"Thank you to the search committee, Jackie Slaats, and President Schutt for entrusting me to lead our department into the future," began Catanzaro. "Their confidence in me is humbling. It is an honor to be able to build upon our Tradition of Excellence as we move forward at the College. Lake Forest has been home for my family for the last 15 years and I am excited about all the great things our department already does and can do moving forward. We have talented and diverse student athletes, led by competitive and driven coaches, who are supported by a compassionate and skillful administrative staff. This combination positions the Lake Forest College Athletic Department for a level of growth and achievement that is energizing and inspiring."
Founded in 1857, Lake Forest College is a selective residential, national liberal arts institution located 30 miles north of downtown Chicago. The College has 1,550 students representing nearly every state and 85 countries. The Department of Athletics features 25 varsity teams, supports numerous club and intramural sport programs, and provides recreational facilities for members of the campus and surrounding communities.