From women's basketball student-athlete to athletics administrator, Erika Wallace has seen her career come full circle.
Twenty years ago, the former Grand Valley State guard — then Erika Ryskamp — hoisted an NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship trophy as a student-athlete.
Last year as part of her duties as chair of the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Committee, Wallace awarded that same trophy to a team from her alma mater, and the Wayne State (Michigan) athletics director will again hand over the trophy to this year's champion March 28.
Since winning a championship herself, Wallace has grown into the kind of leader that she believes wouldn't be possible without the lessons being a student-athlete taught her.
Early lessons on perseverance
As the daughter of a high school basketball coach, Wallace found a love for basketball early on. By the time she reached middle school, she had set the goal for herself to play college basketball one day.
When she began to get recruited, the decision to attend Grand Valley State was an easy one. Location played a role — just an hour from Schoolcraft, her small hometown in Michigan — but the main draw was the program's new head coach, Dawn Plitzuweit.
"There were four freshmen that she brought in with her first recruiting class, and I was one of those," Wallace said. "I had actually never played for a female coach before, so for me, that representation of having a woman as a head coach was important, and I was super excited to finally play for a woman. (Plitzuweit and her coaching staff) just really sold me on their culture and how successful they felt like we could be if we committed to them."
Plitzuweit, now the head coach at Minnesota, remembers just how dedicated and eager Wallace was when she entered the program.
"She hit the ground running from the beginning of it and really set the tone for our program … man, she was a competitor," Plitzuweit said. "She was selfless, but her work ethic and her competitiveness level were second to none."
Wallace's buy-in resulted in her being a consistent part of the rotation her freshman season. Earning playing time, however, did not eliminate the hardships she faced adjusting to college life.
"I struggled for sure in the beginning," Wallace said. "My freshman year was rough, just trying to understand the demands that go into being a student-athlete."
It's an experience that she shares with many of her own student-athletes today at Wayne State, who may be facing second thoughts about their school choice like she once did. Wallace encourages them to give it a little time, understanding that it "may seem uncomfortable right now, but that's when growth happens." She also recognizes that sometimes it just takes the right mentor to help guide you through.
"I think Coach Plitzuweit really helped me through (my struggles)," Wallace said. "A lot of that had to be through a little bit of tough love … and accountability. There was definitely some conversations about why I wasn't fitting in or what I was struggling with. And again, I had a female in that role who had experienced it, being able to tell me what she was seeing. I think it just carried so much more weight for me, and I really took to heart what she had to say."
Building a champion
When Wallace's sophomore season ended in the quarterfinal round of the Division II tournament, she thinks that marked a turning point for the team going into her junior season.
Erika Wallace, who was inducted into the Grand Valley State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015, averaged 11.2 points per game as a starting guard for the Lakers 2005-06 women's basketball championship team. (Photo courtesy of Grand Valley State)
"We had a lot of buy-in … and we had the experience, too," Wallace said. "I think because we had made it to the Elite Eight the year before, it was like this notion of anything less would be a failure for us. So we had that goal starting the season of winning a national championship, but we truly believed we could."
Serving as team captain and starting guard, Wallace led the Lakers to a 24-3 regular season. Plitzuweit recalls how early-season struggles helped prepare Wallace and the team for their postseason run.
"It wasn't easy," Plitzuweit said. "We started off with two early-season losses. But we had a team — and I firmly believe this — that was a player-led team. They wanted it, and they went out and they got it. We, as coaches, were just kind of there to help guide them a little bit. But they had a hunger to them that was second to none. So they rallied and they competed and they found ways to get it done."
Wallace's big moment to help her team get it done came in the semifinal round of the tournament, when she scored a game-high 22 points against Chico State to propel the Lakers to their first national championship appearance.
"I didn't know I had 22 points, that's for sure," Wallace said. "I just remember winning that Final Four game and being like, 'Holy cow, we are in the national championship. We can do this.' We didn't want to go home, that was the big thing. We knew what that felt like, and we just wanted to stay until the end."
Wallace and her teammates got their wish, as they went on to defeat American International, 58-52, for the program's first championship.
Finding a new way to lead
In 2007, Wallace finished her playing career at Grand Valley State as one of the most accomplished players in program history. She still ranks among the school's best career 3-point shooters and is one of just three Laker women's basketball players to total over 1,400 points and 350 assists in her career.
When it came to time to decide what life looked like after basketball, Wallace was unsure what the future held.
"I thought about nursing school for a bit," said Wallace, who earned her bachelor's degree in exercise physiology. "People had asked me if I wanted to coach, and I knew I didn't want to coach. I was pretty set on that. I didn't really know at the time that athletic administration was a career path or one that was available for me or how to even start."
Wallace's first step toward working in athletics administration would actually begin in university admissions, landing a role as a financial aid counselor at Grand Valley State. This gave her an opportunity to earn a Master of Public Administration and learn about NCAA compliance through her work with scholarships and endowments. Over the eight years she spent in university admissions, Wallace progressed to associate director of financial aid and scholarships, becoming well-versed in working with coaches and administrators in the athletics department.
"When Keri Becker was promoted to athletic director at (Grand Valley State) … we had a conversation, and I remember she was like, 'I think it's time you come back home,'" Wallace said. "So I went from being the associate director of financial aid and scholarships (for the university) to the associate athletic director and senior woman administrator (for the athletics department). I didn't know at the time … but being on the other side of campus really became an asset for me in my current role."
Wallace spent another three years at Grand Valley State before the opportunity to transition into more of a leadership role at Wayne State presented itself in 2019. As Wayne State's athletics chief of staff and SWA, she spent three more years working closely with then-Athletics Director Rob Fournier on further developing the student-athlete experience.
When Fournier retired in 2022, Wallace was chosen as the interim AD.
"When I took the interim role, the president at the time had told me, 'I want you to lead in this role like you would if you were not the interim. … I really want you to take the reins,'" Wallace said. "I think that gave me the confidence to make some decisions and kind of move the needle a little bit, probably a little bit quicker than what I would have had he not said that to me. It really gave me the confidence to know that, 'OK, I'm not the permanent AD yet, but if I want to be, I have to start acting like I want it to be.'"
This mindset paid off for Wallace, who earned the permanent role in June 2023.
'Here for a reason'
In nearly three years of serving as Wayne State AD, Wallace has found fulfillment and joy in several parts of her job.
Wallace speaks at Wayne State's annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day event. She served as the university's interim athletics director for six months before earning the permanent role in June 2023. (Photo courtesy of Wayne State)
One instance came early in her tenure, when she created an assistant AD for mental health and wellness position. It's one of several decisions that her time as a student-athlete drove her to make, aiming to create a better experience for the student-athletes at Wayne State than the one she had.
"I think (my student-athlete experience) impacts every decision I make, probably more than I realize … because it's an experience that I've lived. It's part of who I am," Wallace said.
Another moment of joy came when she presented the Division II championship trophy to Grand Valley State last year. It was the Lakers' first championship since Wallace's team won during the 2005-06 season. Grand Valley State head coach Mike Williams was an assistant coach on Wallace's championship team.
"It was pretty surreal, a very cool moment," Wallace said. "Coach Plitzuweit was there as well because her daughter is on the team. When she was recruiting me to (Grand Valley State), she was actually pregnant with her daughter. So it was just this full-circle moment."
With every responsibility that lies within Wallace's role, the one she carries with the most pride is the example she is able to set for the women and girls in her life, providing proof that they don't have to put limits on what they want to accomplish.
"I have a responsibility to show other women that this could absolutely be them, and my hope would be that it's not a question whether or not they can be or can't be," Wallace said. "I have two daughters, they're 15 and 12, and they don't know any different that females can't be athletics directors because their mom has been an athletics director.
"It's very cool for me, but I don't take it lightly. I know that, especially on the hard days when certain things happen or comments are made, because they absolutely are, it's at those moments where I'm like, 'No, I'm supposed to be here for a reason.' Because women can do these jobs, too."
