Nate Norman will take over as the fifth head coach in women’s soccer program history, the University announced Tuesday. He will fill the shoes of Theresa Romagnolo, who resigned in January.
Norman graduated from Notre Dame in 2007 — a former midfielder for the the Irish — and helped Notre Dame win the Big East regular season title in 2004 and reach the NCAA quarterfinals in 2006. He was the college roommate and teammate of newly-named men’s soccer head coach Chad Riley.
Norman and his wife Rachel, who his the assistant director of sports nutrition for Notre Dame athletics, also welcomed their first child, daughter Kinsley, on Saturday.
Prior to being named head coach, Norman spent one year as an assistant coach at Notre Dame.
“Being named head coach at your alma mater, especially at a place that did so much for me, is certainly a dream come true,” Norman said in a statement. “It’s always been my dream job to come back and coach here, and I’m so humbled and excited to have this opportunity to serve this program, serve these players and serve this school. It’s a wonderful platform to be able to make a huge impact and also be impacted by others. This program has a tremendous tradition and history of success, and I look forward to finding new ways to engage all those who have been a part of that elite level of achievement.
“I want to thank [University President] Fr. John Jenkins, [director of athletics] Jack Swarbrick, [senior associate athletics director] Mike Harrity, [former men’s head coach] Bobby Clark and Theresa Romagnolo for everything they have done for me and giving me the opportunity to be the head coach of our women’s soccer program.”
Before returning to Notre Dame, Norman spent one season as the head coach at Liberty University, guiding the Flames to a 14-8 record, as well as a Big South tournament title. Before coaching at Liberty, Norman spent four seasons at the helm at Western Michigan, where the Broncos recorded a 44-27-14 record under his tutelage.
“It is a testament to the strength of our women’s soccer program that after conducting a national search for a head coach we concluded that the best candidate is already a member of the program,” Swarbrick said of Norman. “Nate Norman is a talented coach with a history of success, but even more importantly he will be a great mentor to our students because he embodies the values of our University.”
