2025 Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame Spotlight: Lisa Cellucci

BY JOHN BOHNENKAMP

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Lisa Cellucci (98BA) will have a busy weekend when she’s inducted into the UI Athletics Hall of Fame on Aug. 29-30.

The same weekend, she’ll be coaching Iowa’s field hockey team in home games against Wake Forest and North Carolina as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

“Right after I found out I was going into the Hall of Fame, I was a bit speechless. And they were like, ‘Well, do you have anything to say?’ And I said, ‘Oh my gosh, we have to play North Carolina and Wake Forest,’” Cellucci laughs. “So, it’s going to be a little chaotic that weekend.”

Her induction honors her for loyalty to a program she knew she wanted to join from the first time she saw the Hawkeyes play.

Cellucci, who grew up in suburban Philadelphia, went to see her first college field hockey game when Iowa played at Rutgers in the 1990 NCAA Final Four.

“We’re walking up to the field, and I saw this team wearing all black and they were so cool,” Cellucci says. “There was this great aura about them. I asked, ‘Who’s this team? They look amazing.’”

Cellucci would go on to become one of the best goalkeepers in program history. She was three-time NFHCA All-American (1995, 1996, 1998) and four-time All-Big Ten honoree, and she still holds the program record for career saves with 592.

During her playing career, she helped lead Iowa to two undefeated Big Ten regular-season championships (10-0 each), one Big Ten Tournament title, three NCAA Elite Eight appearances, and one NCAA Final Four.

“Coming into it, I knew there were very high expectations and standards, and I needed to be as prepared as possible,” she says. “I had Olympians as coaches and national team members and All-Americans as teammates. It was a privilege to be on the team and a challenge I was excited to take on.”

Cellucci begins her 26th season as a part of Iowa’s coaching staff this fall and her 12th season as head coach, keeping a standard that has been there since before she first saw them play.

“We recruit a special type of player,” Cellucci says. “We attract very driven and compelled women, and it’s a motivating environment to be a part of.  This program has always been unique, and few can compare with our tradition of excellence. The women really love their experience, and they understand that they are a part of something so much bigger than themselves. Iowa field hockey is truly a family.”

Lisa Cellucci (Field Hockey)
Three-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-American selection (1995,1996,1998)… three-time NFHCA West Region All-American (1995, 1996, 1998)… four-time All-Big Ten honoree, earning first-team honors in 1995 and 1996 and second-team distinction in 1997 and 1998… Iowa’s all-time leader in program saves with 592… led the team to two Big Ten regular season titles with an undefeated conference record of 10-0 in both seasons… one Big Ten Tournament championship… three NCAA Elite Eight appearances and an NCAA Final Four… member of the United States National Team (1999-2001)… member of the USA Under-23 National Team (1997-1998)… member of the USA Under 18-National Team (1993-1994)… competed at the U.S. Olympic Festival in 1993, 1994 and 1995.