Beth Pier grew up in Neenah, Wisconsin, graduated from St. Mary Central High School and St. Norbert College, and was inducted into the hall of fame at each institution. She was an all-conference volleyball, basketball, and softball player at St. Mary Central, where she helped lead the volleyball team to a pair of state championships and the basketball team to the state tournament. In basketball she was the conference player of the year and the program’s all-time leading scorer. Pier continued her volleyball and basketball career at St. Norbert, where she played on seven conference championship teams. She was an all-conference volleyball player and the Green Knight basketball team reached the NCAA Division III Final Four her sophomore season. After graduating from St. Norbert, she began a teaching career and served as an assistant coach for a combined six years at St. Norbert and Lawrence University.

Pier was hired as the head volleyball coach at Lake Forest College in 1994. Over the next 14 years, her teams won nearly 62 percent of their matches and more than 70 percent of Midwest Conference contests. Pier directed the Foresters to an 18-8 record in her first year, the first of five 20-win seasons in 1996, and the program’s first conference championship in 1997. Two years later the team began a streak of three consecutive league titles and reached the second round in her first of four NCAA Tournament appearances. At 23-6, the 2000 squad’s winning percentage was still the highest in program history at the time of her induction, and the 2003 Foresters captured a fifth championship trophy, despite being the #5 seed in the MWC Tournament. With a career record of 252-157, Pier finished with just 10 fewer victories than the previous five head coaches in program history combined. She was 66-28 in conference play, earned MWC Coach of the Year honors each time her team claimed the league title, and coached three players to a combined four MWC Player of the Year awards. In addition, Forester players garnered 45 all-conference selections in her tenure, including 27 first team accolades. Pier was also an assistant women’s basketball coach at the College for six seasons and Lake Forest was 108-29 with a conference title during that span.

Pier resigned after the 2007 season but remained an avid fan of Forester Athletics. She considers her 14 years at the College the most enriching and rewarding of her professional life.