Growing up in Wisconsin the 80s, Nicki Collen knew she loved sports. But strong female professional athletes to look up to were few in far between. She admired Chris Evert on the tennis courts from afar, but Nicki’s true love was basketball. With the WNBA still decades away, she looked to the NBA for inspiration.
“Larry Bird was my biggest idol,” she says, looking back. “I didn't think about who female role models were at that point,” Collen says. “You just didn't associate with women's professional players and really aspire to that.”
Despite not having that example to follow, Collen blazed her own path, persevering and working hard to compete at the collegiate level and into the coaching ranks.