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JP Abercrumbie joined Notre Dame Athletics in February 2022 as the Executive Associate Athletics Director, Culture & Engagement. Responsible for leading organizational culture, diversity, equity, inclusion, and various operational effectiveness efforts, Abercrumbie’s role includes active relationship building with student-athletes, coaches, staff, campus & industry colleagues, corporate and philanthropic partners, the local community and alumni. Managing key initiatives of the AD’s office, Abercrumbie serves as chair of the Athletics Leadership Team and Athletics Culture Curators, influencing all aspects of the department. Additionally, Abercrumbie maintains sport oversight responsibilities.
Prior to the start of the 2022-23 academic year, Abercrumbie launched Together Irish (a continuation of the department’s StaND Together campaign) a redefinition of the department’s commitment to social change via education, engagement, and enrichment across various dimensions of humanity.
Recognized as not only an athletics leader but a respected campus and community liaison, Abercrumbie spearheaded the events around the highly successful TSUND weekend when Notre Dame football hosted a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) for the first time, welcoming Tennessee State University to South Bend. The historic weekend was highlighted by more than fifteen featured events held on campus and throughout South Bend exploring the significance of the moment through and beyond the game. TSUND weekend was a collaboration of dozens of campus and community partners guided by Abercrumbie’s vision and leadership.
Abercrumbie’s influence in the areas of racial and social justice also includes the advancement of athletics, campus, community, and industry initiatives related to Hispanic and Latino heritage, Indigenous culture, Asian-American/Pacific Islander backgrounds, the international experience, gender, sexuality, spirituality, citizenship, and civic engagement. In 2023, Abercrumbie was named an Atlantic Coast Conference Unite Award recipient in honor of her work to champion racial and social justice at Notre Dame and beyond.
Prior to Notre Dame, Abercrumbie served as the Associate AD for SOAR/Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at Rice University. As a member of Rice’s senior staff, Abercrumbie created the SOAR program and oversaw: student development, alumni engagement, mental health programming, NIL, select Title IX/sexual violence prevention efforts, and served as a sport administrator. As Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, Abercrumbie led the design and implementation of Athletics’ DEI policies and practices, chaired the Owl In Task Force, and acted as the primary contact for national, local, and campus matters related to DEI.
In 2022, Abercrumbie was recognized by the Black Student-Athlete Summit as an Innovator and Administrator of the Year. Abercrumbie’s career also features stops at Mississippi State University, University of California, Berkeley, and Temple University. A 2018 graduate of the NCAA’s prestigious Dr. Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute Abercrumbie actively serves as a member of Notre Dame, ACC, NCAA, NFL, Women Leaders in Sports, and MOAA committees.
A Chicagoland native, Abercrumbie competed in track and field at Temple University, graduating with honors in linguistic anthropology. Abercrumbie holds a Master’s in the Cultural Studies of Sport in Education from the University of California, Berkeley, completed the Athlete Development Professional Certification Program from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and holds a Change Management Certificate from Cornell University and a Fund Development Certificate from Rice University’s Glasscock School of Continuing Studies.