From the playground to college, Marcella Zalot always loved to play sports.

Her college years now over, Zalot is still involved with collegiate athletics.

But now she's putting pressure on the Harvard Athletic Department rather than on opposing teams.

Zalot, a Smith College graduate, is Harvard's new Assistant Director of Athletics for Compliance, charged with ensuring that coaches and athletes stick to a plethora rules.

"I had a great experience playing intercollegiate athletics at Smith," says Zalot, a two-year Captain of Smith's basketball squad and a goalie for the school's soccer team. "It was very rewarding, so I would hope the experience of the students here is rewarding too."

For Zelot, rewards mean having fun and winning while adhering to NCAA, Ivy League, and university regulations.

Zelot says she spends most of her time examining Harvard programs and looking for possible rule violations. She says the most common infractions concern recruitment, academic eligibility and amateur status.

"You definitely have to be organized, especially because of the [number] of athletes," she says. "Keeping track of numbers is the hardest part."

Zalot made the transition from athlete to administrator when she worked as an intern in the NCAA national office located in Kansas three years ago.

She was a member of the enforcement department, performing many of the same tasks that she does today. But she stresses that while her functions at both posts may appear similar, the atmosphere here at Harvard is markedly different.

"Here it's a whole different perspective," Zalot says. "The NCAA was like the government, but it's the everyday deal here...You have to be approachable because you're always interacting with coaches and athletes."

And why did Zalot choose Harvard?

"Some institutions' athletics have the tendency to overshadow academics. I wanted to find a place where academics are primary."

In addition to coaches and athletes, Zalot works closely with the Freshman Registrar, the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, and the Faculty Standing Committee, which oversees the rules of the Athletic Department.

Athletic Director Bill Cleary stresses the importance of personality in fulfilling these functions.

"The most important thing is personal qualities," Cleary says. "She [Zalot] is young and enthusiastic and has good knowledge of compliance. She has a feeling for what it is to be an athlete, to be with coaches."

With such a strong athletic background, it is no surprise that Zalot spends her free time on the playing field. She describes herself as an avid golfer and plays softball and basketball in the summer.

"But," Zalot jokes, "my hobby now is apartment hunting."

Joking aside, Zalot is still learning the ropes at Harvard.

She has begun fundraising for Radcliffe athletic programs, but she is reluctant to define what her exact role at Harvard is. Indeed, some parts of her job description have yet to be fulfilled

"I'm still getting my feet wet," Zalot declares. "It's still baptism under fire."

As for Zalot's first three months on the job, Cleary couldn't be more pleased.

"She has lived up to all the wonderful things we'd heard from the NCAA," Cleary gushed. "She is a joy to have around...There is a lot of life in her. We've been delighted with everything she has done here in such a short time."