Jan. 17, 2017
By Joanne Norell
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame athletics department has announced that Angie Torain has joined the staff as Associate Athletics Director, Human Resources, Legal and Risk Management.
“I am both excited and honored to join the University of Notre Dame family,” Torain said. “I would like to thank Vice President and James E Rohr Director of Athletics Jack Swarbrick, Senior Deputy Athletics Director/SWA, Sports Operations/ACC Liaison Missy Conboy, Senior Associate Athletics Director, Business Operations Tom Nevala, and Senior Associate Athletics Director, Compliance and Policy Management Jill Bodensteiner for the opportunity to work at a university with such a rich history and tradition that I followed growing up 20 miles away as a kid. It is with much excitement that I look forward to using my skills, experience and passion for athletics to support the staff, coaches and student-athletes every day.”
Torain joins Notre Dame after serving as Deputy Athletic Director and Senior Women’s Administrator at the University of the Incarnate Word since September 2015. In that role, she served as the primary advisor to the Director of Athletics, supervised the department’s NCAA reclassification to Division I and acted as the department’s Title IX representative. Torain also assisted with the management of the department’s budget and contracts, served as human resources liaison and acted as sport administrator for six programs.
Prior to her time at Incarnate Word, Torain was the Associate Commissioner for Administrative Services at the Summit League, where she led the league’s strategic planning initiatives and was liaison for the NCAA Certification Program for member schools. She also worked with the League’s academic reviews, compliance reviews, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and contracts.
During her tenure at the Summit League, Torain – a 1997 graduate of Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law – also served as an adjunct professor of sports law at Northern Illinois University.
Torain also previously served as Associate Athletic Director and SWA at IUPUI, where she assisted with the development and management of the athletic budget, reviewed department contracts and acted as liaison for human resources, student housing and financial aid, and new athletic construction. As a sport administrator, she managed the athletics scholarship budget for all teams and oversaw game management, in addition to overseeing administration of eight programs.
She has previously served in two stints with the NCAA, first as Assistant Director of Enforcement/Secondary Violations (1999-2002) and then as Assistant Director of Championships (2006-07). From 2002-06, Torain was the Assistant Commissioner for Institutional Services, Championship Administrator and SWA for the Mid-Continent Conference (now the Summit League).
Torain began her collegiate athletics career as the Director of Compliance at the Horizon League (then known as the Midwestern Collegiate Conference). She has served on numerous NCAA committees and graduated from the NCAA Pathway Program in 2016. She has been a member of NACWAA since 1998 and was a 2001 NACWAA/HERS graduate. She has also volunteered her time at local food and clothing banks and mentoring programs.
She is a 1994 graduate of DePauw University, where she earned a degree in sociology and was a basketball and track and field student-athlete.
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Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and fencing programs. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, and earned her master’s degree in sports industry management from Georgetown University in 2013.