Bio

Laura Pierce will be the first Athletics Academic Success Advisor at Fitchburg State University. Her experience as a head coach, working with Fitchburg State's student-athletes and providing academic support, makes her the ideal candidate for this role. Laura's efforts will build the groundwork to help all student-athletes reach their academic goals. This position has been created to provide dedicated academic support and success initiatives, directly contributing to improved academic performance, retention, and graduation rates for the university's student-athletes.

Laura was the Head Women's Basketball Coach at Fitchburg State prior to transitioning to her new role. She has served in that role and helped run the department's recreational program since 2019.   

Before Fitchbrug, Laura spent time at Wheaton College, working primarily with the women's basketball team's guards, fostering individual, group, and team chemistry. Her other responsibilities included practice plans, fundraising efforts, and developing recruiting schedules for the coaching staff. The team boasted a 2018-19 New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Second-Team All-Conference Selection, and nine players were tabbed as NEWMAC academic all-conference. She also served as an assistant coach at Wesleyan University for two seasons.

Laura, a three-year captain for the Lyons, finished her career at Wheaton with 622 points, 253 rebounds, 424 assists, and 68 steals in 100 games played (87 starts). Pierce currently ranks third all-time in program history in assists and fifth all-time in three-point field goals, with 121 total.

Pierce earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 2015 from Wheaton College and a graduate degree in liberal studies from Wesleyan University in 2017. She most recently earned a master's degree in Business Administration in 2021 from Fitchburg State.