Seven Winning Points
Paula Conway is Bishop’s dynamic athletic director who started at the School in 2021. She was an All-American field hockey player during high school and also college, where she played Division I while getting a degree in education at Providence College. She was named Big East Conference Rookie of the Year as a freshman and Player of the Year as a senior. Coaching stints at Georgetown, Kent State and Boston College followed, as did a master’s degree in leadership and administration at BC. After making the move to San Diego, Conway served as athletic director at La Jolla High School for seven years before coming to Bishop’s.
Under her direction, the Bishop’s field hockey team won the 2025 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) San Diego Open Division championship. She was named 2024 High School Field Hockey Coach of the Year for the west/midwest region and California and 2025 Athletic Director of the Year by the San Diego High School Sports Association. She will be inducted into the Providence College Hall of Fame in 2026.
Fundraising is currently underway for the new Wu Tsai Field House, with hopes of opening the facility in the fall of 2028. Conway and the whole athletics department team have collaborated intensely with architects and the Bishop’s community to design the building. We asked Conway to walk us through the highlights.
#1 A magnet for the whole community
So much of what I love about Bishop’s is that kids just want to be on campus. They’re here late. They want to watch games and be with their friends. The Wu Tsai Field House is going to be a magnet for that kind of connection, whether you’re an interscholastic athlete or someone who wants to lift and work out. The observation deck will be a fantastic place to watch a tennis match and a water polo game, or any sport played on Hunte Field. Some days we have four or five games going on, and the energy is just electric after school. Class reunions, Hall of Fame events, and Bish Bowl will use this space; future generations of alumni will gather here. This building is going to be a really special place to magnify the spirit and love for Bishop’s.
#2 Training skills for all seven grades
When our facilities were built, forty-some years ago, athletics didn’t have the kind of operational intensity it does now. We now initiate our training programs in sixth grade, moving through middle school and then upper school. It’s really important for us to start early with teaching strength and conditioning, weight room and lifetime skills, which will help with injury prevention, as well as success on the field. Our Knights work so hard, and this is a commitment to their excellence.
#3 No more weight room traffic jams
I’m so excited for this building because we really lack space across the board right now. Our training room is about a fraction of the size that we actually need. I can’t wait to see whole teams being able to comfortably lift at one time in the weight room.
I also love that our strength and conditioning program is used by everyone. Some students want to use the weight room because they found a love for it. Others want to get in a great workout before they do their homework. This is a well-being space that supports a healthy lifestyle for the entire campus, and everyone is welcome.
#4 Greater capacity to heal injuries
Sports medicine is going to get the expansion it really, really needs! Roughly 85 percent of our students play for Bishop’s, and they’re playing at a high level. The injuries are more pervasive compared to what was treatable in a small training room twenty years ago. Now we have a continual demand for rehab. In the Wu Tsai Field House, we’ll gain a big, modern Sports Medicine Suite so we can serve more students simultaneously — and get them back with their teams, doing what they love.
#5 Home base for performance psychology
Mental training is such a huge aspect of athletics now. One of our big hopes for the Lead with Purpose campaign is to endow a full-time optimal performance specialist. The Wu Tsai Field House will be their home base. This practitioner will work with athletes and any interested student on focus, thought patterns, coping with setbacks or other issues involving performance. We want to make sure our Knights have these tools because they are just as important as the physical part of training.
#6 A big spotlight on nutrition
We’ve designed a Refueling Station and Lounge on the lower floor of the building where athletes can get a healthy snack — or even a meal, if they’ve got a late practice. This space will support our expanded focus on nutrition. We want players to better understand how to properly rehydrate and refuel before practice and after. And we want to make it easy for them to do this after a busy school day, rather than grabbing some junk food! Nutrition is just one of the many habits we’re working to integrate and foster, so that athletes can really see the difference as they reach for higher levels of competition.
#7 Tech tools for performance analysis
Analytic technology gives us amazing insights into performance these days. It’s so exciting to imagine our teams and coaching staff using the new Team Development and Film Room to prep for games. Or students practicing in the two simulation rooms on the upper floor of the building. They can practice everything from football block-and-tackle to golf swings to batting practice up there! This facility is going to place amazing technology literally at the fingertips of our coaches and players.