Iowa Field Hockey to Break Ground on New Operations Facility
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It was a harsh reality check for Margot McMahon Monser (05BA).
A then-freshman from St. Louis, Monser had lofty goals on the pitch for the University of Iowa’s field hockey team. However, she had one problem.
“I wasn’t fully prepared when I first got to Iowa, and my grades weren’t up to par my first semester,” she says. “I needed to get my priorities in order.”
Monser took a year off from college and headed back home. Yet, Iowa didn’t give up on her.
“The coaches and staff wanted me back on campus and kept me in the loop,” says Monser of former head coach Tracey Griesbaum and current head coach Lisa Cellucci (98BA), who was an assistant at the time. “They held my spot—and my hand—and got me prepared to handle Division I athletics and academics. They got me ready and never lost faith in me.”
Monser earned a 3.8 grade point average her first semester back and ended up a four-year letterwinner and captain her senior year—helping the Hawkeyes to a 2004 Big Ten regular season championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. She never forgot the support and guidance she received at Iowa.
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That’s why Margot and her husband, Ed Monser, of St. Louis, recently made a $5.35 million gift to support the new Iowa field hockey operations facility. Construction of the building, which received permission to proceed at a June Iowa Board of Regents meeting, will create a permanent home for Iowa field hockey at Grant Field.
The Monsers’ gift is the largest in Iowa history from a letterwinner to a facilities project.
“We feel fortunate to be in a position to support Iowa field hockey and give back to a program that gave Margot so much,” says Ed Monser, who is a retired executive with Emerson Electric. “Coach Cellucci talked to us about what she needed for the program to be top tier in terms of facilities, and we were excited to support it. Supporting Margot’s story—coming back and succeeding at Iowa—it was an easy decision to make for us.”
A New Home for Iowa Field Hockey
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Since becoming head coach in 2014, Cellucci has had two goals—bring Iowa its second national championship and build a home for Iowa field hockey at Grant Field.
“Many of the top 15 teams around the country have an operations facility at their field,” says Cellucci, who is 125-68 as head coach at Iowa. “When it comes to recruiting, we’ve been at a competitive disadvantage. It’s really been the missing piece for us.”
In August, Iowa will break ground on an 8,698-square-foot operations facility on the north side of Grant Field. The one-story building—which is scheduled to be completed by summer 2027—will feature:
- Home, visitor, and staff locker rooms
- A hall of fame that showcases the rich history of Iowa field hockey
- A film room for debriefs before and after practice
- A multipurpose space for eating team meals and studying together
- An athletic training room with hot and cold tubs
- Offices and a conference room for coaching staff
For Cellucci, this new facility creates a one-stop shop for her team. Currently, Iowa field hockey watches film at the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame, practices at Grant Field, receives athletic training treatments at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex, and works out at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
“Our student-athletes and coaches have had to navigate three to four different facilities each day to accomplish the field hockey portion of their day, and it really hampers the time we can spend on the field training,” says Cellucci. “This new operations building will be transformational for us and create a true high-performance environment by bringing everything we need in one location. It will also be incredibly meaningful for the generations of women who have built what Iowa field hockey is today.”
The $8.7 million operations facility is being funded exclusively by donor support, which includes the lead gift from the Monsers.
“Gratitude feels like too small of a word to use, because Ed and Margot’s unbelievable gift is impossible to put into words,” says Cellucci. “Their support of this facility is going to change the program for future generations. I’ve known Margot for 20-some years, and I couldn’t be prouder that it’s a field hockey letterwinner whose leadership gift is helping make this new facility possible. Both Ed and Margot are unbelievably gracious people, and this new facility means so much to the program.”
Margot Monser, who works for a consulting firm and is an assistant field hockey coach at a St. Louis high school, says she’s proud to help position Iowa field hockey for future success.
“I’m really happy to pay it forward,” she says. “My experiences at Iowa were great, and I’m forever grateful for a program that never gave up on me.”
