September 10, 2025 • 32 mins
Amy Lasack chats with Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Athletic Director, Nick Weinmeister, to learn more about the transformation athletics will bring to the shared experience for students. The new sports at NICC join current sports offerings Esports and sports shooting; they include baseball, softball, dance and men's and women's cross country. Amy shares with listeners the athletic recruiting successes Nick, his staff and coaches are creating. Athletes have enrolled from all across Iowa, the region, the US and even internationally. The new student-athletes are enrolled for their first semester at NICC this fall. The sports teams, seven in all, will create buzz and excitement at the College's Calmar and Peosta campuses.
Tune into this episode to learn about a scrimmage game between NICC and a local college hosted at the Field of Dreams movie site this October and learn how you can cheer on the teams.
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Episode Transcript
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Amy Lasack (00:00):
Welcome to The Catalyst, an exciting and
insightful podcast produced byNortheast Iowa Community
College. I'm your host, AmyLasack. Together, we'll explore
the people, programs, andpartnerships that make Northeast
Iowa Community College unique.From student success stories to
behind the scenes info aboutathletics, innovation, and
(00:20):
industry collaboration, eachepisode dives deeper into your
community's college. Get readyfor an inside look at the impact
of community driven education atNICC.
All right. Well, today on today's episode of The
Catalyst, we welcome NickWeinmeister, our athletic
director at NICC Northeast IowaCommunity College. Nick's in
(00:43):
charge of a growing andsuccessful athletic program at
NICC, and we're so excited tohave him here to talk about all
things athletics. So welcome,Nick.
Nick Weinmeister (00:53):
Thanks, Amy. Thanks for having me. Appreciate
the time.
Amy Lasack (00:55):
We are so excited to be talking about all things
athletics at NICC and you haveyour hands full right now.
There's so much going onathletics wise. It's just
booming. So let's just startwith the big picture. What can
you tell us about what's goingon at NICC?
Nick Weinmeister (01:12):
Yeah there's a lot going on that's for sure. I
think there's no shortage ofchanges and all for the
positive. I think the mostimportant thing is just NICC's
commitment to adding more ornewer programs. Really, I think
really just trying to infuse anew energy into the college. For
(01:34):
us, you know, that means a lotof different things.
We got to find facility space.We have to figure out where the
teams are going to compete.Know, about a little less than a
year ago, I was trying to figureout which teams made the most
sense to bring to NICC right outof the gate and try and figure
out what the board would want tosee and what, you know, the
community would support. And sofor us, you know, it's been the
(01:56):
recruiting trails been beencrazy, trying to find that
facility. Now that we have oneon campus that we're, you know,
really trying to, you know,bring that energy and bring as
many student athletes from, youknow, both locally, regionally,
and then also out of state andinternationally.
We're doing a lot right now.Would say that the top things
are prepping for August, whichis, you know, when students
(02:19):
arrive and, you know, thatexcitement is finally a reality
because we get to, you know, getto see them compete, get to see,
you know, all of them, you know,become Cougars and join us and
be here physically on campus. Ithink that will, you know, just
take that excitement level up toanother notch.
Amy Lasack (02:35):
Alex, this is so exciting. I mean, I know NICC
has had a couple of sports for alittle while, but I think I read
correctly that we have sevennow.
Nick Weinmeister (02:45):
Yep. Wow. Technically it's seven. So we
have what we've already had,sports shooting, which, is trap
shooting for us and then also esports. But we have added
baseball, softball, and then,dance and then men's and women's
cross country.
So men's women's cross countrycounting is two would give us
seven.
Amy Lasack (03:05):
That's incredible. I don't know how you're keeping
everything straight between allthe new additions, the existing
facilities, all of those pieces.We were just talking a little
bit about you just moved intothe new facility in Piazza. Can
you talk a little bit aboutwhat's been going on there?
Nick Weinmeister (03:22):
Yeah, so it's ever changing. That is for sure.
It was a space that was used forboth gas utilities program and
for construction management. Itjust at times in the past and we
were able to buy, you know, Iguess I would say luck because
really they did some renovationsto the main campus building that
(03:42):
allowed for those programs tomove over there. And really it
was was nice because the collegehad asked if it was something
that athletics could use as aspace for indoor training.
I said actually it would beperfect. So that kind of set
everything in motion. Andluckily for us, it was a spot
that with the sports that wehave incoming was something
where we could get athletictraining services out of. We
(04:07):
have there's a classroom, wewill have study tables, film and
video review and things of thatnature in there. Nice.
Couple coaches offices,obviously our weight room will
be in there. It's going to be anice large space where we'll
have a weight room that's goingbe open to all staff, students,
faculty. Then also it's going tobe a turf space that's more for
indoor training for baseball,softball, dance, whoever needs
(04:31):
it. It's turf space with battingcages and actually our in house
contractor put together a greatspace for shower rooms to the
existing bathrooms that wealready had. So yeah, it's a
space we're really excitedabout.
I think the excitement ramped uplast week when we finally got
the flooring that arrivedthrough shipping. It's not in
(04:54):
and down yet, but it actually isphysically here, which got us
all excited. We're finallystarting to make strides and we
hope to have as much of it doneby early August as possible and
by the time the students arrive.So yeah, it's a great new space
right on campus, right acrossfrom the main campus building.
Amy Lasack (05:12):
Oh, how exciting. I And know what you mean about
getting excited by having theflooring actually there, and it
starts to feel a little real andyou're in the building. Sounds
like it's going to be a greatspace.
Nick Weinmeister (05:22):
It seems like a small thing when it just
sounds like flooring, it's allwrapped up and it's on pallets.
But when you've seen an emptyroom for so long, it's, you
know, that kind of finallystarted to get us excited. Like,
okay, now we're starting to geteverything in motion. So, yeah,
think just seeing the renderingsand what it's going to be is,
you know, it's exciting in andof itself, but I think once it's
(05:46):
operational and everything's inthere and the students can come
in and, you know, we'll have anopen house, which we're excited
about probably sometime inSeptember when everything's
completely and students arehere. But yeah, we're gonna have
an open house, pretty muchanybody and everybody can come
in and take a look and see whatwe're working with and hopefully
continue to use it as arecruiting tool and be able to
(06:06):
have this space be a shiningspot on campus.
Amy Lasack (06:10):
Oh, that's great. And you talked a little bit
about recruiting. So going outthere and meeting with students
and talking to them, I'm surethey're excited about the fact
that they get to be part of afirst at NICC and talking to
them about this new space you'recreating. So can you talk a
little bit about the recruitingpart of it and how your team is
out there and talking to allkinds of students?
Nick Weinmeister (06:32):
Yeah, that's a great question. So I'll start
kind of on the ladder there. Youtalked about my team. I have a
great team around me, coachesthat are fully invested into
trying to provide the the bestcollege experience they possibly
can, you know, in recruitment.Recruiting is is not an easy
thing.
I I think anyone out there thathas done admissions recruiting
(06:54):
or athletics recruiting at anylevel knows how difficult it is
and managing that. And I thinkfor us, we're fortunate to have
the right people in the rightspots to go out and find student
athletes that are going to comebe great advocates of the
college. They're going to comein and help us be competitive
right away. For us, it was notnecessarily looking at any one
(07:15):
area. It was casting a wide netand trying to figure out, okay,
who's who's gonna come inbecause they fit the personality
characteristics we're lookingfor.
They have, you know, the theathletic, you know, I guess,
traits that we're looking for interms of coaches finding the
right players that can do theright things that that they like
to do from a coachingstandpoint. And, you know, we
(07:36):
we've been very fortunate. Wehave, you know, coaches on
staff, like I said, that havedone it before and kinda know
what to look for in the in theplatforms with which to use. And
then also, you know, like youmentioned at the beginning, it's
kind of selling that it's youcould be one of the first and
that's been a huge selling pointfor us just because, you know,
it's pretty exciting to say youwere a part of the first team
(07:58):
ever, you know, and in terms ofour new sports. And then I
think, you know, the existingsports we already have, it's
it's just been like, it's beenawesome telling them, you know,
you're gonna be the first toexperience, you know, now with
five more athletic teams, whatit's going to to feel like and
be like on campus.
And
Amy Lasack (08:15):
yeah,
Nick Weinmeister (08:15):
I think we, you know, we had fairly lofty
goals in terms of recruitmentand, you know, have done a great
job just in terms of totalnumbers. So, you know, my hope,
like I mentioned, was to kind ofinfuse a new energy to the
campus as a whole. But thenalso, you know, athletics can
can be a big energy boost toofor, you know, both academics.
(08:36):
It can be for athletics, youknow, give the community and
people something to rally aroundand support. And so, yeah,
recruiting has been, it's been achallenge at times, but it's
also been very rewarding,getting to talk to some of the
incoming recruits we have,whether that be baseball or
cross country or softball.
Just to be able to talk aboutwhat NICC is doing in terms of
(09:00):
changing and for the better inathletics.
Amy Lasack (09:03):
Did I hear you correctly earlier and you said
that you have studentsinternationally and across the
country coming to play sports atNICC. Talk about that. That's
pretty exciting.
Nick Weinmeister (09:14):
Yeah. So we, you know, it's been something
that I think both baseball andsoftball have really tried to
put an emphasis on because, youknow, there's one country
specifically that we've targetedin terms of finding those
international recruits has beenCanada, for a couple of
different reasons. But one ofthe main being that they're, you
(09:36):
know, in in baseball andsoftball, there aren't as many
opportunities at the universitylevel in Canada. So a lot of
times players in those sports,they'll play travel ball and
they'll go look for differentopportunities in The States,
especially as it pertains tocollege. They want to go and
oftentimes, you know, if they'renot being recruited by NCAA
(09:56):
division one schools right outof the gate, then they're
looking for junior collegeopportunities.
And, you know, it's it's beensomething that we've tried to
take advantage of really is isgoing out and finding very good
players internationally. And andluckily for us, you know, we we
have a college that, you know,allows us to not have, you know,
some some places I know have,you know, the cost is a factor
(10:18):
for internationals. And at NICC,you know, we have, I think our
cost for international students,you know, I really talk to all
the families internationallythat I'm trying to recruit and
say, you know, it's not thatdissimilar from our out of state
tuition. And so I think it's,you know, we're not really doing
them a disservice by, you know,charging, you know, a crazy
(10:39):
figure for them to try to go tocollege, and especially if they
want to continue playing playingsports. And so for us finding,
you know, we have right now wehave four international students
coming, for this upcoming year,all from Canada and two for
baseball and two for softball.
I think that number will onlycontinue to increase, you know,
as as the years progress andespecially as, you know, again,
(10:59):
I think for them, it was aboutbeing, you know, being the
first. And so then when they cango back home or when they tell,
you know, their former teammatesor, coaches about, you know,
their time at NICC, we just hopethey speak highly of it and, you
know, get the most out of thatexperience. So then, you know,
obviously for us in the future,we can, you know, be able to
capitalize on that And not justin Canada, but all over the
(11:21):
world. I think, you know, from astandpoint of myself in an
athletic directing role, wouldlove to see, you know, a ton of
diversity within our programsand on our campus. And you can
only do that by by going out andfinding the right people to come
in and bring that diversity,whether it be from playing in a
country that doesn't offer it asmuch or it's not as popular as
(11:43):
other sports, or it could justbe playing on different teams or
having a different path tocollege.
And, you know, the excitingthing about that is they're all
coming for a sport so they canall, you know, have that one
thing that they can enjoytogether. And so we're very
excited about our ourinternational recruits as as we
are with all. But, but, yeah,bringing bringing a different
look and feel to, to NICC. NICC.
Amy Lasack (12:04):
Yeah, and not only the international recruits, but
like you mentioned, we haverecruits coming from outside of
the state of Iowa too, providingthat really that extra
excitement, so to speak, on
campus, even for those students that aren't
athletes, having new individualsfrom outside coming in and
(12:25):
participating in the classeswith them, that's gotta be
exciting.
Nick Weinmeister (12:30):
Yeah, we think that, you know, from just from
an athletic standpoint, youknow, we're we know the numbers,
you know, very specifically ofwho we're bringing in and who's
going to comprise our rosters.But I think, you know, another
exciting piece for the collegeis who might be friends or
familiar with those people andwhere they're going to school
that they might end up coming inan ICC as well. And so that's
(12:53):
only going to help us from a,you know, a fan and engagement
standpoint. But yeah, we'redefinitely excited about, you
know, the out of state studentathletes that are coming in and
out of state students in generalthat are going to be coming to
campus now that we offerathletics. I think, you know,
early on, you probably won't seeit maybe as much as I think we
will in the future.
I mean, know you you had spentsome time at Kirkwood, so I know
(13:16):
that, you know, Kirkwood does avery good job of, you know,
bringing, you know, studentathletes from all over the
country. And I think, you know,we're just trying to, you know,
get to a point and and positionourselves around ICC Cougar
Athletics is, you know,hopefully at least locally and
regionally recognized, buthopefully nationally at some
point in the future. And, youknow, I don't want to, you know,
(13:37):
jump too far ahead of myself,but I I would like to see it
sooner rather than later.
Amy Lasack (13:42):
I love your positive attitude. That's that
competitiveness from an athletecoming through there.
Nick Weinmeister (13:46):
Yeah, I tell everybody I'm like, I'm as
competitive as they come, butI'm also a realist. And so I
know that it's going to takesome time, but, I like to set
lofty goals and hope to achievethem as quick as I can.
Amy Lasack (14:00):
Earlier you had mentioned study tables and the
importance of the student partof student athlete. And you
know, a lot of folks might notthink of a community college as
a place to go to further yourathletic, career. So talk a
little bit about the importanceof that student piece of things
at a community college.
Nick Weinmeister (14:21):
Yeah, that's a great point. And I say it and
sometimes I catch myself inalmost coach speak and it's just
natural to me. A lot of peoplethat might be tuning in or
listening in might notunderstand when I make
references like that. So Iappreciate you bringing it up.
But you know, the the firstthing is always first, which is
(14:42):
student and and the academicpiece always has to be the first
conversation that we have is,you know, one it's we love the
fact that, you know, a lot oftimes the student athletes want
to come and continue the sportthat they love.
But in reality, I want to makesure that all of the students
coming in or considering NICC,we're a right fit for them
academically. So one of the nicethings, and to be quite honest
(15:05):
with you, one of the things thatintrigued me most before I took
the job at NICC was all of theprograms that we offer. We offer
so many that I think allow for,you know, myself and the other
coaches on our athletic staff tobe just able to have all the
conversations they need to. Wehave what I feel like is almost
(15:28):
something for everybody.Obviously, in the technical side
of things, might not haveliterally everything.
But I think from a juniorcollege standpoint, we're
positioned greatly to be able tooffer all that we do. And so
then that conversation turnsinto, you know, we have these
things to offer you. Also, wehave the sport that you're
looking to perform in. And Ithink for us, it's always going
(15:50):
to make, you know, be makingsure that they do what they need
to do in the classroom becauseit doesn't only affect
themselves and the college as awhole, but it affects their
eligibility. It affects theteam.
It affects, you know, everythingelse. And so not only that, but
they have to meet standards thatare different than general
students. They have to meetacademic eligibility standards
(16:11):
from the National Junior CollegeAthletic Association. Our
conference is very keen onmaking sure that the academic
piece is done right. And so forus, I talk about going out and
finding the right players withthe right characteristics.
And I think it's always going tostart with finding you know,
those that excel in school orthat, you know, really have a
(16:32):
passion for a certain program.And so, you know, it's a lot
easier for us to go out and findthose players, when, you know,
the sport is kind of the foot inthe door for us. But then also
we can start havingconversations about you know the
academic side of things. I thinkyou know it's very important for
us once they're here to makesure that they have all the
(16:52):
resources they need to besuccessful. You mentioned study
tables and for us you know, it'sa small piece really that we try
to take advantage of, you know,on a week to week basis with all
of the other things within theirdaily routine of lifting and
practicing and classes and allthat.
But, you know, it's beingintentional about carving out
that time for them to study andbe together as a team. And
(17:15):
you're not only building on thatteam dynamic, but you're also
showing each and every one ofthem that academics is
important. And, you know, ifyour coach is willing to sit in
there with you and make surethat you're, you know, putting
the time, energy, and effortinto your work, you know, that's
that's only gonna produce, youknow, rewarding benefits as you
go into practice, as you go intoweights and and then get ready
for games because, you know, youhave the team that's, you know,
(17:36):
it's really truly together everystep of the way once they get on
campus.
Amy Lasack (17:40):
Right. And I'm sure a part of that is the logistics
of balancing the time in classas a student and having that be
a student first and thenpractices and games and travel
and all of those pieces ofthings. So I'm sure that's been
a big part of what you've had tokind of figure it out here too
as you're getting thingsimplemented.
Nick Weinmeister (18:01):
Yeah, logistically it's been a bit
crazy, that's for sure. Justtrying to, well, obviously
scheduling for all of the sportsand making sure that, you know,
we're finding the right areas toplay, the teams to play, and
things of that nature. But also,you know, just finally now
getting, you know, now that theregistration has taken place and
(18:22):
we're almost there, we're notquite at 100 of all of our
students registered yet, but,you know, making sure that we're
doing what's in their bestinterest from just really from a
college experience standpoint.And the scheduling is the most
important aspect. We're notputting too much on them.
We're allowing them to have somefree and flexible time where
they can just be collegestudents and hang out with their
(18:43):
friends and and go, you know, tothe restaurants and do things
like that. But we're alsostrategic in figuring out what
times we can get the whole teamtogether for team lifts or the
times that we can get themtogether for study hall and and
making sure that they're, youknow, really building out their
routine as early as they can sothey can they can get into it
(19:04):
and they can feel good about itas the semester progresses.
Because for us, you know, Iwould say, you know, it's it's
hard to put a figure on itreally right now, but a large
majority are incoming freshmenwith, you know, little to no
college experience. And so it'sit's gonna be a first for them,
not just a first, you know,first part of the team, but
first college experience forthem to come here and and be on
(19:27):
their own away from, you know,their families and and all of
that. So I think, you know, it'sa coach is always kind of just
that that's kind of theirimmediate role is is that team
management and making sure thateverybody, you know, feels good
about where they're at and theycan try and get into that good
routine.
And and then also, you know, I Itell people all the time as an
(19:47):
incoming athlete, you alreadyhave that built in friend group,
which you're going to hang outwith and spend a lot of time
with that'll hopefully take careof the homesickness and things
of that nature that kind ofhappens sometimes when students
go off to college. So yeah, it'slogistically, it's a lot, but
it's why you do it. You do itfor the students and for them to
have that great collegeexperience and hopefully for
(20:10):
them to go off into the realworld, be successful and talk
about how impactful their timewas, hopefully here at an ICC.
Amy Lasack (20:16):
Yeah. So important. It's just another support system
for those students as well. Talka little bit too about the
scholarship piece of things andNICC and kind of what's evolved
there. I know that's somethingrelatively new for the college.
Nick Weinmeister (20:32):
Yeah so the scholarship piece is it's one
that I would call ever changing.It's something that I think for
us is you know we're we're notwhere we would like to be
admittedly, you know, right outof the gate, but I don't think
any college really is when they,you know, when they add as many
(20:53):
programs that we've added andwhere we want to be. But I think
we're making great strides inareas where for us it's going to
be important, which you knowmost most of the time now when
you think about you know highschoolers going to be a college
athlete you know a lot of thetalk is about finances and money
and you know are you gettingcollege scholarships? Are you
getting NIL money which isimportant to some And now more
(21:16):
than I think for us it's aboutkeeping the main thing the main
thing which again is alwaysgoing to be academics first. So
we'll always, as coaches talkabout the academic scholarship
opportunities and how often youcan apply for those.
And then almost always withoutfail, you'll have typically it's
apparent, but sometimes thestudent athlete when they're on
(21:38):
a visit will say, do you haveathletic scholarship money to
offer? We're very fortunate thatwe do. For every single sport
that we offer, we do havescholarship money. So for us, as
a coach, it's about trying tofigure out what the best plan of
attack is in in terms ofrecruitment because you don't
(21:58):
wanna give it all to only acouple people and and then not
have any for the rest, and youwanna make sure to build out
your rosters the way that youthe way that you can but you
know, it's it's been my goal asathletic director to really
build on that scholarship budgetas much as I possibly can. We've
we've done some some greatthings so far.
We we just had a a golftournament here back in in May
(22:20):
that we think went great and aregoing to have another one here
in September on September 5. Andthat's going to be down at our
Piazza location, which, youknow, again, is is going to help
athletic scholarships. It'sgoing to help every single coach
on each of the teams be able togo out and inevitably it's going
to help all the students thatare receiving those
(22:41):
scholarships. Think it'simportant for them to know that
they're wanted as a part of theteam and to be a team member,
but it's also important for usas coaches to show the
importance of them as a teammember. I think athletic
scholarships do that.
I think it allows for them tofeel that sense of pride that
they did it and they achievedthe ability to you know
(23:05):
hopefully get a chance to go tocollege and maybe add a little
bit more of a discount becauseof you know their academic
academic and athletic prowess inhigh school and so yeah for us
it's you know, it's, it's amanagement kind of like
everything else managing thatathletic scholarship budget,
managing the, that with theacademic scholarship offerings
(23:26):
that we have. And, you know,it's, it's been something
definitely to to have to juggle,especially when you're talking
about brand new programs,because more often than not
actually 100% certainty as acoach, you're never going to
have to recruit a full teamevery single year. You'll have
those returning athletes everyyear that don't make you, you
(23:48):
know, as a as a baseball coach,you know, go out and recruit 50
student athletes. And so it's,you know, it's one of those
different than normalcircumstances. And so, you know,
luckily, I, like I said, I havecoaches on staff that, have done
a really good job of balancingthat.
They've done a really good jobof being intentional about who
they offer athletic scholarshipsto. They do a really good job of
(24:10):
of explaining within therecruitment process if, you
know, there's maybe someathletes that they aren't
offering scholarship money to,but are saying, you know, you're
definitely a valued member ofthis team if you want to be and
you want to join us. And we telleverybody because it's it's the
most true fact is if you comein, especially say as a walk on,
(24:31):
there's walk ons at every levelof every sport in in college
athletics. And if you come in asa walk on and show your worth
and and go out and do everythingthat's asked of you, there's
absolutely an opportunity toearn scholarships. And I think
all of the coaches know that andthey want to be surprised by
some of the students that cancome in and do the things that
maybe they didn't initially see.
And so, yeah, I think it's, likeI said, ever changing and we're
(24:54):
hoping to continue just to growthat scholarship budget and
continue to offer moreopportunities from a financial
standpoint. Yeah, we're rightnow we're working with it and
hopefully it changes for thebetter as we continue to go down
the path.
Amy Lasack (25:10):
That's fantastic. And, what a great way to raise
money too through your golffundraiser. Sounds like you had
a great day and another onecoming up. So that's fantastic.
And speaking of different waysthat the community can help
support the athletic events thatyou have, did I hear a rumor
that maybe your teams get toplay on the field of dreams?
Nick Weinmeister (25:33):
You did. Yeah. That's something that's coming
in October. So it's it'sactually, the baseball team. So
the baseball team will beplaying the University of
Dubuque on October 10.
It's a Friday, and the game willbegin at 5PM, and it will be on
the actual movie site field. Sowe're very excited about it.
It's something that, you know,really, I think from the very
(25:57):
first day I got to campus and I,you know, had accepted the job
at NICC, I'm like, know, as anathletic director, you're always
thinking of ways to infuse someenergy within the community. And
I think, you know, we'repositioned in a place that I
think is, you know, one of, youknow, near one of the most
iconic, you know, baseballsettings and fields because of
(26:19):
the movie in the country, to bequite honest with you. And so,
you we kind of started thatprocess, back in the fall, just
the conversations about what itcould look like.
And then I think, you know,luckily for us, our baseball
coach Connor Klosterman, did agreat job of, you know, one
wanting to do it and wanting itto be a thing and happen. Then
(26:41):
two, being able to find, youknow, the the competition that
he did. And and luckily coachSpain at the University of
Dubuque was willing to play, youknow, to play our team. And I
think it's gonna be somethingthat, just from what I have
heard, you know, I I guess I'llwait and see on the day that it
that it has played. I I've heardrumors of, you know, very, very
(27:02):
large crowd because I thinkthere's a lot of excitement
building around it.
And, you know, we're justexcited to be able to, you know,
showcase the team, showcase, youknow, that first baseball team
ever at NICC and to do so on,you know, a pretty iconic movie
site feel that at the field ofdreams and diaries. I couldn't
ask for, you know, for moreaside from, favorable weather on
(27:25):
that day. That's the only otherthing that I would really like
to I really like to see. But,you know, I I can't control
that. So we're just gonna behopeful that a baseball game is
played and and we'll have somepretty cool other things going
on that night.
And, you know, we'd we'd love tosee, you know, as many people as
are willing to give up, youknow, their Friday night to come
watch and support our baseballteam and, and, the department as
(27:46):
a whole.
Amy Lasack (27:47):
Well, that's, that's pretty exciting. And while not
every sport gets to participateon a Field of Dreams, if
somebody did want to come to afuture event for any of the
sports that NICC has, where canthey find more information about
that?
Nick Weinmeister (28:02):
Yeah, the main place to go for that would be
our athletics website. So it'swww.nicathletics.com and you'll
be able to find literallyeverything athletics related
that you would need to find.There'll be schedules, you'll
see directories on there, how toget to the fields. We have our
partners and sponsors are onthere. And so, yeah, if you're
(28:25):
looking for literally anythingathletics related, you can go
there.
We're also on most social mediachannels. You can see us on
Twitter. We have a Facebook. Youknow, each team has their own
their own page, on Twitter aswell. So there's a lot of great
ways to find us, but our websitewould be one of them.
(28:46):
And you can also find thatthrough the main nicc.edu
website. And you just click onthe menu bar and it's down there
towards the bottom as aclickable link. And yeah, it's
actually that's brand new aswell. So that was one thing that
we had to get going as soon aswe possibly could. You go on
there right now, you won't seemuch from a schedule perspective
or a roster perspective.
(29:06):
We'll have that as we get intoAugust and all of the student
athletes show up. But, yeah,pretty soon that will be, you
know, the main place to find allof the upcoming events, all of
the upcoming things that theteams have going on, any news,
and information, and, you know,some some other pretty exciting
things that I I think a lot ofthe community members will like.
Amy Lasack (29:27):
That's fantastic. And if I'm a student athlete in
high school and I'm consideringgoing to NICC, but I also want
to check things out about beinga student athlete, same sort of
website they go out there andthey can find how to get ahold
of you?
Nick Weinmeister (29:41):
Well, first I'd ask if you have any
eligibility left, Amy, becauseif you wanted to come be an
athlete at NICC, I don't knowwith being an employee, if
that's possible or not, but wecould probably make something
happen. But yeah, you actuallycan go onto our website, so our
athletic website. There's arecruitment form for each sport.
So right at the top, the mainheading bar there, you can find
(30:02):
the recruitment forms for everysingle sport. It's a clickable
link as well.
You fill out the information.All of the information on there
is information that the coachfor that sport themselves has,
you know, deemed most important.So if you're a high school
athlete, go on there, make surethat you fill that out. It gets
directed straight to the coachand that coach will reach out to
(30:24):
you. My guess is probablywithin, you know, twenty four to
forty eight hours of seeing it,they'll they'll reach right out
and, you know, kind of startthat engagement process.
The only thing is having tofollow NJCIBA rules. It's a
student that is not quite ajunior or started their junior
year of high school, we can'treach out to them and start
(30:44):
recruiting them before that. Butif, if you are over that age
limit, then, yeah, you shouldexpect, you know, at least some
sort of communication from thecoach as quickly as possible.
Amy Lasack (30:55):
That's great. Well, Nick, we're already out of time.
This was fantastic. Definitelywant to chat with you later in
the fall after you've gotstarted with your seasons to
hear a little bit more, butthank you so much for building
the NICC Cougar pride with ourathletics program, and we wish
you and your team the best ofluck.
Nick Weinmeister (31:13):
Well, thank you very much, Amy, for having
me. And I appreciate being apart of the podcast and getting
to showcase all the great thingsthat we've done here at NICC and
for Cougar athletics. And Iwould just say, hopefully we'd
love to see everybody thatlistens and you know, engages in
this podcast to come out andcheck everything we've got going
out because we're pretty excitedabout it. But anyways, thank you
(31:36):
again. And I appreciate thetime.
And as always, go Cougars.
Amy Lasack (31:39):
Go Cougars. Thanks, Nick.
Nick Weinmeister (31:41):
Thank you.
Amy Lasack (31:42):
Thanks for joining us on this episode of The
Catalyst. If you enjoyed theconversation, make sure to
follow or subscribe on yourfavorite podcast platform so you
never miss an episode. Want tolearn more about NICC and the
many ways we support ourstudents, partners, community?
Visit nicc.edu for moreresources and upcoming
opportunities. This podcast isproduced by Northeast Iowa
(32:05):
Community College and hosted byAmy Lasack with producer Tessa
Hill, audio engineer AndrewSaunders, story editor Doug
Ropa, and graphic designerAshley Konzen.
Welcome to The Catalyst, an exciting and
insightful podcast produced byNortheast Iowa Community
College. I'm your host, AmyLasack. Together, we'll explore
the people, programs, andpartnerships that make Northeast
Iowa Community College unique.From student success stories to
behind the scenes info aboutathletics, innovation, and
(00:20):
industry collaboration, eachepisode dives deeper into your
community's college. Get readyfor an inside look at the impact
of community driven education atNICC.
All right. Well, today on today's episode of The
Catalyst, we welcome NickWeinmeister, our athletic
director at NICC Northeast IowaCommunity College. Nick's in
(00:43):
charge of a growing andsuccessful athletic program at
NICC, and we're so excited tohave him here to talk about all
things athletics. So welcome,Nick.
Nick Weinmeister (00:53):
Thanks, Amy. Thanks for having me. Appreciate
the time.
Amy Lasack (00:55):
We are so excited to be talking about all things
athletics at NICC and you haveyour hands full right now.
There's so much going onathletics wise. It's just
booming. So let's just startwith the big picture. What can
you tell us about what's goingon at NICC?
Nick Weinmeister (01:12):
Yeah there's a lot going on that's for sure. I
think there's no shortage ofchanges and all for the
positive. I think the mostimportant thing is just NICC's
commitment to adding more ornewer programs. Really, I think
really just trying to infuse anew energy into the college. For
(01:34):
us, you know, that means a lotof different things.
We got to find facility space.We have to figure out where the
teams are going to compete.Know, about a little less than a
year ago, I was trying to figureout which teams made the most
sense to bring to NICC right outof the gate and try and figure
out what the board would want tosee and what, you know, the
community would support. And sofor us, you know, it's been the
(01:56):
recruiting trails been beencrazy, trying to find that
facility. Now that we have oneon campus that we're, you know,
really trying to, you know,bring that energy and bring as
many student athletes from, youknow, both locally, regionally,
and then also out of state andinternationally.
We're doing a lot right now.Would say that the top things
are prepping for August, whichis, you know, when students
(02:19):
arrive and, you know, thatexcitement is finally a reality
because we get to, you know, getto see them compete, get to see,
you know, all of them, you know,become Cougars and join us and
be here physically on campus. Ithink that will, you know, just
take that excitement level up toanother notch.
Amy Lasack (02:35):
Alex, this is so exciting. I mean, I know NICC
has had a couple of sports for alittle while, but I think I read
correctly that we have sevennow.
Nick Weinmeister (02:45):
Yep. Wow. Technically it's seven. So we
have what we've already had,sports shooting, which, is trap
shooting for us and then also esports. But we have added
baseball, softball, and then,dance and then men's and women's
cross country.
So men's women's cross countrycounting is two would give us
seven.
Amy Lasack (03:05):
That's incredible. I don't know how you're keeping
everything straight between allthe new additions, the existing
facilities, all of those pieces.We were just talking a little
bit about you just moved intothe new facility in Piazza. Can
you talk a little bit aboutwhat's been going on there?
Nick Weinmeister (03:22):
Yeah, so it's ever changing. That is for sure.
It was a space that was used forboth gas utilities program and
for construction management. Itjust at times in the past and we
were able to buy, you know, Iguess I would say luck because
really they did some renovationsto the main campus building that
(03:42):
allowed for those programs tomove over there. And really it
was was nice because the collegehad asked if it was something
that athletics could use as aspace for indoor training.
I said actually it would beperfect. So that kind of set
everything in motion. Andluckily for us, it was a spot
that with the sports that wehave incoming was something
where we could get athletictraining services out of. We
(04:07):
have there's a classroom, wewill have study tables, film and
video review and things of thatnature in there. Nice.
Couple coaches offices,obviously our weight room will
be in there. It's going to be anice large space where we'll
have a weight room that's goingbe open to all staff, students,
faculty. Then also it's going tobe a turf space that's more for
indoor training for baseball,softball, dance, whoever needs
(04:31):
it. It's turf space with battingcages and actually our in house
contractor put together a greatspace for shower rooms to the
existing bathrooms that wealready had. So yeah, it's a
space we're really excitedabout.
I think the excitement ramped uplast week when we finally got
the flooring that arrivedthrough shipping. It's not in
(04:54):
and down yet, but it actually isphysically here, which got us
all excited. We're finallystarting to make strides and we
hope to have as much of it doneby early August as possible and
by the time the students arrive.So yeah, it's a great new space
right on campus, right acrossfrom the main campus building.
Amy Lasack (05:12):
Oh, how exciting. I And know what you mean about
getting excited by having theflooring actually there, and it
starts to feel a little real andyou're in the building. Sounds
like it's going to be a greatspace.
Nick Weinmeister (05:22):
It seems like a small thing when it just
sounds like flooring, it's allwrapped up and it's on pallets.
But when you've seen an emptyroom for so long, it's, you
know, that kind of finallystarted to get us excited. Like,
okay, now we're starting to geteverything in motion. So, yeah,
think just seeing the renderingsand what it's going to be is,
you know, it's exciting in andof itself, but I think once it's
(05:46):
operational and everything's inthere and the students can come
in and, you know, we'll have anopen house, which we're excited
about probably sometime inSeptember when everything's
completely and students arehere. But yeah, we're gonna have
an open house, pretty muchanybody and everybody can come
in and take a look and see whatwe're working with and hopefully
continue to use it as arecruiting tool and be able to
(06:06):
have this space be a shiningspot on campus.
Amy Lasack (06:10):
Oh, that's great. And you talked a little bit
about recruiting. So going outthere and meeting with students
and talking to them, I'm surethey're excited about the fact
that they get to be part of afirst at NICC and talking to
them about this new space you'recreating. So can you talk a
little bit about the recruitingpart of it and how your team is
out there and talking to allkinds of students?
Nick Weinmeister (06:32):
Yeah, that's a great question. So I'll start
kind of on the ladder there. Youtalked about my team. I have a
great team around me, coachesthat are fully invested into
trying to provide the the bestcollege experience they possibly
can, you know, in recruitment.Recruiting is is not an easy
thing.
I I think anyone out there thathas done admissions recruiting
(06:54):
or athletics recruiting at anylevel knows how difficult it is
and managing that. And I thinkfor us, we're fortunate to have
the right people in the rightspots to go out and find student
athletes that are going to comebe great advocates of the
college. They're going to comein and help us be competitive
right away. For us, it was notnecessarily looking at any one
(07:15):
area. It was casting a wide netand trying to figure out, okay,
who's who's gonna come inbecause they fit the personality
characteristics we're lookingfor.
They have, you know, the theathletic, you know, I guess,
traits that we're looking for interms of coaches finding the
right players that can do theright things that that they like
to do from a coachingstandpoint. And, you know, we
(07:36):
we've been very fortunate. Wehave, you know, coaches on
staff, like I said, that havedone it before and kinda know
what to look for in the in theplatforms with which to use. And
then also, you know, like youmentioned at the beginning, it's
kind of selling that it's youcould be one of the first and
that's been a huge selling pointfor us just because, you know,
it's pretty exciting to say youwere a part of the first team
(07:58):
ever, you know, and in terms ofour new sports. And then I
think, you know, the existingsports we already have, it's
it's just been like, it's beenawesome telling them, you know,
you're gonna be the first toexperience, you know, now with
five more athletic teams, whatit's going to to feel like and
be like on campus.
And
Amy Lasack (08:15):
yeah,
Nick Weinmeister (08:15):
I think we, you know, we had fairly lofty
goals in terms of recruitmentand, you know, have done a great
job just in terms of totalnumbers. So, you know, my hope,
like I mentioned, was to kind ofinfuse a new energy to the
campus as a whole. But thenalso, you know, athletics can
can be a big energy boost toofor, you know, both academics.
(08:36):
It can be for athletics, youknow, give the community and
people something to rally aroundand support. And so, yeah,
recruiting has been, it's been achallenge at times, but it's
also been very rewarding,getting to talk to some of the
incoming recruits we have,whether that be baseball or
cross country or softball.
Just to be able to talk aboutwhat NICC is doing in terms of
(09:00):
changing and for the better inathletics.
Amy Lasack (09:03):
Did I hear you correctly earlier and you said
that you have studentsinternationally and across the
country coming to play sports atNICC. Talk about that. That's
pretty exciting.
Nick Weinmeister (09:14):
Yeah. So we, you know, it's been something
that I think both baseball andsoftball have really tried to
put an emphasis on because, youknow, there's one country
specifically that we've targetedin terms of finding those
international recruits has beenCanada, for a couple of
different reasons. But one ofthe main being that they're, you
(09:36):
know, in in baseball andsoftball, there aren't as many
opportunities at the universitylevel in Canada. So a lot of
times players in those sports,they'll play travel ball and
they'll go look for differentopportunities in The States,
especially as it pertains tocollege. They want to go and
oftentimes, you know, if they'renot being recruited by NCAA
(09:56):
division one schools right outof the gate, then they're
looking for junior collegeopportunities.
And, you know, it's it's beensomething that we've tried to
take advantage of really is isgoing out and finding very good
players internationally. And andluckily for us, you know, we we
have a college that, you know,allows us to not have, you know,
some some places I know have,you know, the cost is a factor
(10:18):
for internationals. And at NICC,you know, we have, I think our
cost for international students,you know, I really talk to all
the families internationallythat I'm trying to recruit and
say, you know, it's not thatdissimilar from our out of state
tuition. And so I think it's,you know, we're not really doing
them a disservice by, you know,charging, you know, a crazy
(10:39):
figure for them to try to go tocollege, and especially if they
want to continue playing playingsports. And so for us finding,
you know, we have right now wehave four international students
coming, for this upcoming year,all from Canada and two for
baseball and two for softball.
I think that number will onlycontinue to increase, you know,
as as the years progress andespecially as, you know, again,
(10:59):
I think for them, it was aboutbeing, you know, being the
first. And so then when they cango back home or when they tell,
you know, their former teammatesor, coaches about, you know,
their time at NICC, we just hopethey speak highly of it and, you
know, get the most out of thatexperience. So then, you know,
obviously for us in the future,we can, you know, be able to
capitalize on that And not justin Canada, but all over the
(11:21):
world. I think, you know, from astandpoint of myself in an
athletic directing role, wouldlove to see, you know, a ton of
diversity within our programsand on our campus. And you can
only do that by by going out andfinding the right people to come
in and bring that diversity,whether it be from playing in a
country that doesn't offer it asmuch or it's not as popular as
(11:43):
other sports, or it could justbe playing on different teams or
having a different path tocollege.
And, you know, the excitingthing about that is they're all
coming for a sport so they canall, you know, have that one
thing that they can enjoytogether. And so we're very
excited about our ourinternational recruits as as we
are with all. But, but, yeah,bringing bringing a different
look and feel to, to NICC. NICC.
Amy Lasack (12:04):
Yeah, and not only the international recruits, but
like you mentioned, we haverecruits coming from outside of
the state of Iowa too, providingthat really that extra
excitement, so to speak, on
campus, even for those students that aren't
athletes, having new individualsfrom outside coming in and
(12:25):
participating in the classeswith them, that's gotta be
exciting.
Nick Weinmeister (12:30):
Yeah, we think that, you know, from just from
an athletic standpoint, youknow, we're we know the numbers,
you know, very specifically ofwho we're bringing in and who's
going to comprise our rosters.But I think, you know, another
exciting piece for the collegeis who might be friends or
familiar with those people andwhere they're going to school
that they might end up coming inan ICC as well. And so that's
(12:53):
only going to help us from a,you know, a fan and engagement
standpoint. But yeah, we'redefinitely excited about, you
know, the out of state studentathletes that are coming in and
out of state students in generalthat are going to be coming to
campus now that we offerathletics. I think, you know,
early on, you probably won't seeit maybe as much as I think we
will in the future.
I mean, know you you had spentsome time at Kirkwood, so I know
(13:16):
that, you know, Kirkwood does avery good job of, you know,
bringing, you know, studentathletes from all over the
country. And I think, you know,we're just trying to, you know,
get to a point and and positionourselves around ICC Cougar
Athletics is, you know,hopefully at least locally and
regionally recognized, buthopefully nationally at some
point in the future. And, youknow, I don't want to, you know,
(13:37):
jump too far ahead of myself,but I I would like to see it
sooner rather than later.
Amy Lasack (13:42):
I love your positive attitude. That's that
competitiveness from an athletecoming through there.
Nick Weinmeister (13:46):
Yeah, I tell everybody I'm like, I'm as
competitive as they come, butI'm also a realist. And so I
know that it's going to takesome time, but, I like to set
lofty goals and hope to achievethem as quick as I can.
Amy Lasack (14:00):
Earlier you had mentioned study tables and the
importance of the student partof student athlete. And you
know, a lot of folks might notthink of a community college as
a place to go to further yourathletic, career. So talk a
little bit about the importanceof that student piece of things
at a community college.
Nick Weinmeister (14:21):
Yeah, that's a great point. And I say it and
sometimes I catch myself inalmost coach speak and it's just
natural to me. A lot of peoplethat might be tuning in or
listening in might notunderstand when I make
references like that. So Iappreciate you bringing it up.
But you know, the the firstthing is always first, which is
(14:42):
student and and the academicpiece always has to be the first
conversation that we have is,you know, one it's we love the
fact that, you know, a lot oftimes the student athletes want
to come and continue the sportthat they love.
But in reality, I want to makesure that all of the students
coming in or considering NICC,we're a right fit for them
academically. So one of the nicethings, and to be quite honest
(15:05):
with you, one of the things thatintrigued me most before I took
the job at NICC was all of theprograms that we offer. We offer
so many that I think allow for,you know, myself and the other
coaches on our athletic staff tobe just able to have all the
conversations they need to. Wehave what I feel like is almost
(15:28):
something for everybody.Obviously, in the technical side
of things, might not haveliterally everything.
But I think from a juniorcollege standpoint, we're
positioned greatly to be able tooffer all that we do. And so
then that conversation turnsinto, you know, we have these
things to offer you. Also, wehave the sport that you're
looking to perform in. And Ithink for us, it's always going
(15:50):
to make, you know, be makingsure that they do what they need
to do in the classroom becauseit doesn't only affect
themselves and the college as awhole, but it affects their
eligibility. It affects theteam.
It affects, you know, everythingelse. And so not only that, but
they have to meet standards thatare different than general
students. They have to meetacademic eligibility standards
(16:11):
from the National Junior CollegeAthletic Association. Our
conference is very keen onmaking sure that the academic
piece is done right. And so forus, I talk about going out and
finding the right players withthe right characteristics.
And I think it's always going tostart with finding you know,
those that excel in school orthat, you know, really have a
(16:32):
passion for a certain program.And so, you know, it's a lot
easier for us to go out and findthose players, when, you know,
the sport is kind of the foot inthe door for us. But then also
we can start havingconversations about you know the
academic side of things. I thinkyou know it's very important for
us once they're here to makesure that they have all the
(16:52):
resources they need to besuccessful. You mentioned study
tables and for us you know, it'sa small piece really that we try
to take advantage of, you know,on a week to week basis with all
of the other things within theirdaily routine of lifting and
practicing and classes and allthat.
But, you know, it's beingintentional about carving out
that time for them to study andbe together as a team. And
(17:15):
you're not only building on thatteam dynamic, but you're also
showing each and every one ofthem that academics is
important. And, you know, ifyour coach is willing to sit in
there with you and make surethat you're, you know, putting
the time, energy, and effortinto your work, you know, that's
that's only gonna produce, youknow, rewarding benefits as you
go into practice, as you go intoweights and and then get ready
for games because, you know, youhave the team that's, you know,
(17:36):
it's really truly together everystep of the way once they get on
campus.
Amy Lasack (17:40):
Right. And I'm sure a part of that is the logistics
of balancing the time in classas a student and having that be
a student first and thenpractices and games and travel
and all of those pieces ofthings. So I'm sure that's been
a big part of what you've had tokind of figure it out here too
as you're getting thingsimplemented.
Nick Weinmeister (18:01):
Yeah, logistically it's been a bit
crazy, that's for sure. Justtrying to, well, obviously
scheduling for all of the sportsand making sure that, you know,
we're finding the right areas toplay, the teams to play, and
things of that nature. But also,you know, just finally now
getting, you know, now that theregistration has taken place and
(18:22):
we're almost there, we're notquite at 100 of all of our
students registered yet, but,you know, making sure that we're
doing what's in their bestinterest from just really from a
college experience standpoint.And the scheduling is the most
important aspect. We're notputting too much on them.
We're allowing them to have somefree and flexible time where
they can just be collegestudents and hang out with their
(18:43):
friends and and go, you know, tothe restaurants and do things
like that. But we're alsostrategic in figuring out what
times we can get the whole teamtogether for team lifts or the
times that we can get themtogether for study hall and and
making sure that they're, youknow, really building out their
routine as early as they can sothey can they can get into it
(19:04):
and they can feel good about itas the semester progresses.
Because for us, you know, Iwould say, you know, it's it's
hard to put a figure on itreally right now, but a large
majority are incoming freshmenwith, you know, little to no
college experience. And so it'sit's gonna be a first for them,
not just a first, you know,first part of the team, but
first college experience forthem to come here and and be on
(19:27):
their own away from, you know,their families and and all of
that. So I think, you know, it'sa coach is always kind of just
that that's kind of theirimmediate role is is that team
management and making sure thateverybody, you know, feels good
about where they're at and theycan try and get into that good
routine.
And and then also, you know, I Itell people all the time as an
(19:47):
incoming athlete, you alreadyhave that built in friend group,
which you're going to hang outwith and spend a lot of time
with that'll hopefully take careof the homesickness and things
of that nature that kind ofhappens sometimes when students
go off to college. So yeah, it'slogistically, it's a lot, but
it's why you do it. You do itfor the students and for them to
have that great collegeexperience and hopefully for
(20:10):
them to go off into the realworld, be successful and talk
about how impactful their timewas, hopefully here at an ICC.
Amy Lasack (20:16):
Yeah. So important. It's just another support system
for those students as well. Talka little bit too about the
scholarship piece of things andNICC and kind of what's evolved
there. I know that's somethingrelatively new for the college.
Nick Weinmeister (20:32):
Yeah so the scholarship piece is it's one
that I would call ever changing.It's something that I think for
us is you know we're we're notwhere we would like to be
admittedly, you know, right outof the gate, but I don't think
any college really is when they,you know, when they add as many
(20:53):
programs that we've added andwhere we want to be. But I think
we're making great strides inareas where for us it's going to
be important, which you knowmost most of the time now when
you think about you know highschoolers going to be a college
athlete you know a lot of thetalk is about finances and money
and you know are you gettingcollege scholarships? Are you
getting NIL money which isimportant to some And now more
(21:16):
than I think for us it's aboutkeeping the main thing the main
thing which again is alwaysgoing to be academics first. So
we'll always, as coaches talkabout the academic scholarship
opportunities and how often youcan apply for those.
And then almost always withoutfail, you'll have typically it's
apparent, but sometimes thestudent athlete when they're on
(21:38):
a visit will say, do you haveathletic scholarship money to
offer? We're very fortunate thatwe do. For every single sport
that we offer, we do havescholarship money. So for us, as
a coach, it's about trying tofigure out what the best plan of
attack is in in terms ofrecruitment because you don't
(21:58):
wanna give it all to only acouple people and and then not
have any for the rest, and youwanna make sure to build out
your rosters the way that youthe way that you can but you
know, it's it's been my goal asathletic director to really
build on that scholarship budgetas much as I possibly can. We've
we've done some some greatthings so far.
We we just had a a golftournament here back in in May
(22:20):
that we think went great and aregoing to have another one here
in September on September 5. Andthat's going to be down at our
Piazza location, which, youknow, again, is is going to help
athletic scholarships. It'sgoing to help every single coach
on each of the teams be able togo out and inevitably it's going
to help all the students thatare receiving those
(22:41):
scholarships. Think it'simportant for them to know that
they're wanted as a part of theteam and to be a team member,
but it's also important for usas coaches to show the
importance of them as a teammember. I think athletic
scholarships do that.
I think it allows for them tofeel that sense of pride that
they did it and they achievedthe ability to you know
(23:05):
hopefully get a chance to go tocollege and maybe add a little
bit more of a discount becauseof you know their academic
academic and athletic prowess inhigh school and so yeah for us
it's you know, it's, it's amanagement kind of like
everything else managing thatathletic scholarship budget,
managing the, that with theacademic scholarship offerings
(23:26):
that we have. And, you know,it's, it's been something
definitely to to have to juggle,especially when you're talking
about brand new programs,because more often than not
actually 100% certainty as acoach, you're never going to
have to recruit a full teamevery single year. You'll have
those returning athletes everyyear that don't make you, you
(23:48):
know, as a as a baseball coach,you know, go out and recruit 50
student athletes. And so it's,you know, it's one of those
different than normalcircumstances. And so, you know,
luckily, I, like I said, I havecoaches on staff that, have done
a really good job of balancingthat.
They've done a really good jobof being intentional about who
they offer athletic scholarshipsto. They do a really good job of
(24:10):
of explaining within therecruitment process if, you
know, there's maybe someathletes that they aren't
offering scholarship money to,but are saying, you know, you're
definitely a valued member ofthis team if you want to be and
you want to join us. And we telleverybody because it's it's the
most true fact is if you comein, especially say as a walk on,
(24:31):
there's walk ons at every levelof every sport in in college
athletics. And if you come in asa walk on and show your worth
and and go out and do everythingthat's asked of you, there's
absolutely an opportunity toearn scholarships. And I think
all of the coaches know that andthey want to be surprised by
some of the students that cancome in and do the things that
maybe they didn't initially see.
And so, yeah, I think it's, likeI said, ever changing and we're
(24:54):
hoping to continue just to growthat scholarship budget and
continue to offer moreopportunities from a financial
standpoint. Yeah, we're rightnow we're working with it and
hopefully it changes for thebetter as we continue to go down
the path.
Amy Lasack (25:10):
That's fantastic. And, what a great way to raise
money too through your golffundraiser. Sounds like you had
a great day and another onecoming up. So that's fantastic.
And speaking of different waysthat the community can help
support the athletic events thatyou have, did I hear a rumor
that maybe your teams get toplay on the field of dreams?
Nick Weinmeister (25:33):
You did. Yeah. That's something that's coming
in October. So it's it'sactually, the baseball team. So
the baseball team will beplaying the University of
Dubuque on October 10.
It's a Friday, and the game willbegin at 5PM, and it will be on
the actual movie site field. Sowe're very excited about it.
It's something that, you know,really, I think from the very
(25:57):
first day I got to campus and I,you know, had accepted the job
at NICC, I'm like, know, as anathletic director, you're always
thinking of ways to infuse someenergy within the community. And
I think, you know, we'repositioned in a place that I
think is, you know, one of, youknow, near one of the most
iconic, you know, baseballsettings and fields because of
(26:19):
the movie in the country, to bequite honest with you. And so,
you we kind of started thatprocess, back in the fall, just
the conversations about what itcould look like.
And then I think, you know,luckily for us, our baseball
coach Connor Klosterman, did agreat job of, you know, one
wanting to do it and wanting itto be a thing and happen. Then
(26:41):
two, being able to find, youknow, the the competition that
he did. And and luckily coachSpain at the University of
Dubuque was willing to play, youknow, to play our team. And I
think it's gonna be somethingthat, just from what I have
heard, you know, I I guess I'llwait and see on the day that it
that it has played. I I've heardrumors of, you know, very, very
(27:02):
large crowd because I thinkthere's a lot of excitement
building around it.
And, you know, we're justexcited to be able to, you know,
showcase the team, showcase, youknow, that first baseball team
ever at NICC and to do so on,you know, a pretty iconic movie
site feel that at the field ofdreams and diaries. I couldn't
ask for, you know, for moreaside from, favorable weather on
(27:25):
that day. That's the only otherthing that I would really like
to I really like to see. But,you know, I I can't control
that. So we're just gonna behopeful that a baseball game is
played and and we'll have somepretty cool other things going
on that night.
And, you know, we'd we'd love tosee, you know, as many people as
are willing to give up, youknow, their Friday night to come
watch and support our baseballteam and, and, the department as
(27:46):
a whole.
Amy Lasack (27:47):
Well, that's, that's pretty exciting. And while not
every sport gets to participateon a Field of Dreams, if
somebody did want to come to afuture event for any of the
sports that NICC has, where canthey find more information about
that?
Nick Weinmeister (28:02):
Yeah, the main place to go for that would be
our athletics website. So it'swww.nicathletics.com and you'll
be able to find literallyeverything athletics related
that you would need to find.There'll be schedules, you'll
see directories on there, how toget to the fields. We have our
partners and sponsors are onthere. And so, yeah, if you're
(28:25):
looking for literally anythingathletics related, you can go
there.
We're also on most social mediachannels. You can see us on
Twitter. We have a Facebook. Youknow, each team has their own
their own page, on Twitter aswell. So there's a lot of great
ways to find us, but our websitewould be one of them.
(28:46):
And you can also find thatthrough the main nicc.edu
website. And you just click onthe menu bar and it's down there
towards the bottom as aclickable link. And yeah, it's
actually that's brand new aswell. So that was one thing that
we had to get going as soon aswe possibly could. You go on
there right now, you won't seemuch from a schedule perspective
or a roster perspective.
(29:06):
We'll have that as we get intoAugust and all of the student
athletes show up. But, yeah,pretty soon that will be, you
know, the main place to find allof the upcoming events, all of
the upcoming things that theteams have going on, any news,
and information, and, you know,some some other pretty exciting
things that I I think a lot ofthe community members will like.
Amy Lasack (29:27):
That's fantastic. And if I'm a student athlete in
high school and I'm consideringgoing to NICC, but I also want
to check things out about beinga student athlete, same sort of
website they go out there andthey can find how to get ahold
of you?
Nick Weinmeister (29:41):
Well, first I'd ask if you have any
eligibility left, Amy, becauseif you wanted to come be an
athlete at NICC, I don't knowwith being an employee, if
that's possible or not, but wecould probably make something
happen. But yeah, you actuallycan go onto our website, so our
athletic website. There's arecruitment form for each sport.
So right at the top, the mainheading bar there, you can find
(30:02):
the recruitment forms for everysingle sport. It's a clickable
link as well.
You fill out the information.All of the information on there
is information that the coachfor that sport themselves has,
you know, deemed most important.So if you're a high school
athlete, go on there, make surethat you fill that out. It gets
directed straight to the coachand that coach will reach out to
(30:24):
you. My guess is probablywithin, you know, twenty four to
forty eight hours of seeing it,they'll they'll reach right out
and, you know, kind of startthat engagement process.
The only thing is having tofollow NJCIBA rules. It's a
student that is not quite ajunior or started their junior
year of high school, we can'treach out to them and start
(30:44):
recruiting them before that. Butif, if you are over that age
limit, then, yeah, you shouldexpect, you know, at least some
sort of communication from thecoach as quickly as possible.
Amy Lasack (30:55):
That's great. Well, Nick, we're already out of time.
This was fantastic. Definitelywant to chat with you later in
the fall after you've gotstarted with your seasons to
hear a little bit more, butthank you so much for building
the NICC Cougar pride with ourathletics program, and we wish
you and your team the best ofluck.
Nick Weinmeister (31:13):
Well, thank you very much, Amy, for having
me. And I appreciate being apart of the podcast and getting
to showcase all the great thingsthat we've done here at NICC and
for Cougar athletics. And Iwould just say, hopefully we'd
love to see everybody thatlistens and you know, engages in
this podcast to come out andcheck everything we've got going
out because we're pretty excitedabout it. But anyways, thank you
(31:36):
again. And I appreciate thetime.
And as always, go Cougars.
Amy Lasack (31:39):
Go Cougars. Thanks, Nick.
Nick Weinmeister (31:41):
Thank you.
Amy Lasack (31:42):
Thanks for joining us on this episode of The
Catalyst. If you enjoyed theconversation, make sure to
follow or subscribe on yourfavorite podcast platform so you
never miss an episode. Want tolearn more about NICC and the
many ways we support ourstudents, partners, community?
Visit nicc.edu for moreresources and upcoming
opportunities. This podcast isproduced by Northeast Iowa
(32:05):
Community College and hosted byAmy Lasack with producer Tessa
Hill, audio engineer AndrewSaunders, story editor Doug
Ropa, and graphic designerAshley Konzen.
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