Holy Cross Crusaders

HOLY CROSS CRUSADERS ATHLET I CS FAC I L I T I ES don’t miss practices,” Pizzi remarks. “In the past, if you had a foot or snow outside, you lost a day of practice. Now we can have those teams in there, and they’re not losing that structured time with their coaches.” The total number of Athletic Department staff at Holy Cross is just under a hundred. Pizzi, who oversees facilities, operations, and event management, has four full-time employees, and about 50 part-time employees. Some services under his purview, such as security and parking, are outsourced. While the facilities at the Luth Complex are generally reserved for students, faculty, staff, and some alumni, the school does try to rent out space, such as the skating rink, when it doesn’t interfere with campus activities. “We work with local organizations if they’re looking to rent out the space if they need it; it’s a balance of what’s available,” says Pizzi. “We’re not going to sacrifice the priority of our student/ athletes and their practice schedule for an outside rental.” That being said, Pizzi has worked lately with team coaches to identify times when certain venues may be utilized by off-campus organizations. “When I first got here, we were under budget in regards to revenue and behind the eight ball in creating those relationships and finding those types of partners,” he recounts. “But in past years, we’ve been able to bring in some groups and not affect our student/athletes. It’s been a good process and we’re projected to exceed our budgeted revenue income if we keep on doing what we’re supposed to do. So, that’s a good thing for a department like ours, which doesn’t bring in a lot of money. While it’s not all about the revenue, it does help us balance what we spend from an operational standpoint.” Spending is always top of mind when one is in charge of athletic facilities. “There’s always that R&R piece,” Pizzi opines. “For example, your synthetic fields are going to disintegrate over a period of time. Our field hockey field, our track and field facility, at some point are going to