After 18 years as athletic director, Lenti Ponsetto says goodbye to DePaul

Moving usually isn't fun.

But there's probably a pretty good chance that in the process of packing up, you'll run across some interesting items that you forgot you had.

Jeanne Lenti Ponsetto is experiencing one blast from the past after another this week.

She's packing up her office in Lincoln Park after 18 years of collecting all kinds of fun things as DePaul's athletic director.

Lenti Ponsetto, one of just 31 female athletic directors in Division I athletics, announced in early June that she would be retiring but would stay on until DePaul found a new athletic director. On Monday, DePaul announced that it hired Kentucky deputy athletic director DeWayne Peevy to be its new athletic director.

Hence, the moving boxes in Lenti Ponsetto's office this week.

"There are a lot of good memories as I clean out my office," Lenti Ponsetto said. "Every little thing ... signed softballs from World Series, signed jerseys from kids, I found this file from my first NCAA conventions in 1982 and 1983. There are a lot of great cards and notes from kids and parents.

"I've kind of been on this farewell tour the last couple of months while the search (for the new athletic director) has been going on and I've gotten a lot of notes recently, too. It's been great to look back on all of that."

Lenti Ponsetto, who is 64 and has spent a total of 45 years in the DePaul athletic department, is happily looking forward to slowing down, to taking her foot slightly off the gas.

She is still concerned about her health, having battled three breast cancer diagnoses in recent years, the most recent of which she was in treatment for when she made her retirement announcement.

"Right now, my health is good. I have no active cancer," Lenti Ponsetto said. "But it's a constant monitor. I have shots once a month as part of a chemo regimen.

"That definitely factored into my decision. Back in 2018 when I got my last diagnosis, my husband (Joe) wanted me to retire then. He knows how I do this job. It's 24/7, and that's probably not the best pattern for how to do things when you have cancer. This will give me time to step back and take care of my health."

Lenti Ponsetto will also have more time to take care of her dad, Frank, who is 95 and lives with her and Joe.

"This is the second year he is living with us," Lenti Ponsetto said of her dad. "We are his full-time care givers and I love the time with him. And he really appreciates being able to live with one of his kids. It's great having him with us."

Traveling, once that becomes more possible in our new COVID-19 world, is another thing on Lenti Ponsetto's retirement bucket list. As is volunteering more with Special Olympics, St. Vincent DePaul and the Marillac Social Center.

And DePaul will still be in the picture. Very much so.

Lenti Ponsetto lives right across the street from her office. So when she shows up to a practice or to a game to say hi and says she "was in the neighborhood," she literally was.

Lenti Ponsetto's presence at a game or practice in the future will feel like the norm, like nothing has changed.

During her tenure as athletic director, Lenti Ponsetto was all-in when it came to being present, both physically and mentally. She attended nearly every home athletic contest for every sport that she could. And she made a habit of knowing every single athlete's name, and also something personal about them, all 220 or so of them.

"You know, Joe and I don't have our own children, so our student-athletes at DePaul have always been our children, and living across the street always made it easy to go to everything, and get to know everyone," Lenti Ponsetto said. "We really enjoyed that. And I really enjoyed getting to know all the kids. I think that's so important, to have a personal connection with someone. When you know a kid enough to know more than their name, then the messages you share with them are that much more impactful."

And Lenti Ponsetto certainly had an impact at DePaul, not only personally but professionally as well.

During her tenure as athletic director, 14 of 15 programs represented DePaul in the NCAA championships, including 17 straight NCAA appearances by the women's basketball team, and two trips to the Women's College World Series for the softball program.

"I was one of the first beneficiaries of Title IX and that has been so rewarding for me," Lenti Ponsetto said.

Twitter: @babcockmcgraw