In field hockey, midfielders are the turf’s dynamic multitaskers. Maybe that’s how University of Louisville senior, midfielder and two-time field hockey co-captain Izzy Bianco has navigated being a peak student-athlete so seamlessly.
The New Jersey native’s UofL journey began as a freshman – a high school freshman. She committed to the university at 15 years old after participating in a UofL field hockey clinic with fellow potential recruits. The youngest, and in her words, a “pipsqueak,” Bianco became a Cardinal just one day before an NCAA rule change barred teenagers from committing to a college prior to the summer before their junior year of high school. The rule went into effect on May 1, 2019. Bianco accepted UofL’s offer on April 30.
“I’ve always wanted to play field hockey at a high level and UofL’s always been a really established program,” she said. “The city and fan base for all our sports plus our student-athlete body does such an amazing job of supporting each other.”
As a Cardinal, Bianco has played in 76 games. Her parents, Beth and Tony, have been to nearly all of them. “They’ve been here, like, every weekend,” she said. “I always joke with my mom that she should be a travel agent.”
On Beth’s side, Bianco is graduating as a first-generation college student, something she’s proud of for both herself and her mother. A sports administration (SPAD) major in the College of Education and Human Development with a political science minor, she credits SPAD’s multidimensional approach for her solid foundation to build a career in sports law.
At UofL, Bianco has stayed busy on and off the field. She’s been an active player on Team USA’s Junior National Team. She coaches local youth teams. And she’s president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, where she’s worked with student government to create programming that brings student-athletes and their non-athlete peers together in meaningful ways. It’s an initiative she’s especially proud of as it will continue to develop and impact future student-athletes.
“Being at UofL has helped me grow a lot as a person and an athlete by giving me leadership skills and pushing me to do things that might be uncomfortable in the moment but are going to help in the future,” she said.
As for the future, Bianco has big dreams – but she’s still deciding how she wants to play the game of life.
“I’m a planner and I don’t have an exact plan,” she said, but the next step after graduation is to return home to New Jersey and prepare for the LSAT while she’s still “in the zone” for studying. She’s excited for her next chapter, but grateful for the time she’s had as a Cardinal.
“It went by so fast,” Bianco said. “I can’t believe it’s already done.”
