Women In Sports Leadership: Mary Cicerone & Eve Claar

Mary Cicerone of Bloomfield Hills Marian and Eve Claar of Ann Arbor Pioneer are unquestionably leaders in women’s sports. Earlier this week, they were recognized for their impressive work not just for athletics, but for their positive and inspiring impact on student athletes.

Mary Cicerone and Eve Claar were honored with the 37th and 38th Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Women In Sports Leadership Awards. Their celebration will take place during this year’s sold-out WISL Conference on February 4th and 5th.

These awards are allocated based on the achievements of female coaches, officials and athletic administrators who not only display leadership on the court, field and track, but also in the school and the classroom. They also contribute positively to MHSAA athletics.

Cicerone’s list of accomplishments is plentiful since taking over the Bloomfield Hills Marian girls basketball program in 1983. She has a record of 707-233 making her the fourth-winningest coach in MHSAA girls basketball history and the winningest women to ever lead a program. She took the Mustangs to six finals championships, won 19 Catholic High School League Central division championships and 20 overall CHSL League titles.

She was not just an all-star coach, but an all star player as well. Cicerone was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the University of Detroit Mercy after leading the team to three AIAW State Championships. She eclipsed over 1,000 career points and was awarded the President’s Award as the University of Detroit Mercy’s most outstanding female student-athlete.

Eve Claar leads one of the largest athletic programs at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School. In her 21st year as an athletic director, she has guided the Pioneers to great success. This includes 16 MHSAA Finals Championships, tied for most Finals Championships in a year for a Lower Peninsula school with four.

Claar is also an influential leader within the MHSAA as she is the president of the Michigan Field Hockey League and a committee member of the MHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award. She has been recognized for her incredible work as AD, being named the Regional Athletic Director of the Year in 2019, and founded the Southeastern Conference’s Women in Sports Leadership Conference.

Claar was a three-sport athlete at North Farmington high school participating in basketball, volleyball, and softball. She continued her athletic career at Central Michigan University where she remains one of the most accomplished 3-point shooters in the program. After putting up the basketball shoes, she was an assistant coach for the University of Detroit Mercy for two seasons.