This is Patty Dennison Norton's fourth year in her role as Executive Director of Volleyball and Lacrosse Operations. She oversees scheduling, academics, facilities and travel. This is her 13th year on the Cardinals staff. In addition to her former coaching duties and current administrative duties, she has served as the color commentator for U of L's televised volleyball matches on Fox 41 WDRB. Norton was integral in logistical efforts behind the many international events the Cardinals have hosted and traveled to attend; especially the 2005 trip to Italy and the 2001 International Tour when the Cardinals traveled to Germany, Austria, Italy and Russia. Norton has twice chosen U of L to be her home and her team. She spent the 1999 season as the head coach at the University of Charlotte, before returning to Louisville for her marriage to Chad Norton. At Charlotte, Norton compiled a 13-17 overall record and a 7-9 conference mark, a school best. Her team had first-time wins over Cincinnati, South Florida and intrastate rival Wake Forest. Facing a daunting schedule, the 49ers had 10 opponents who advanced to the NCAA Championship Tournament. Setter Ozlem Ayture was named to the Conference USA second team with Emily Bowers joining her on the third team. Norton joined the Cardinals for the first time in 1994 as a volunteer assistant while interning with Fox 41 WDRB and the U of L Athletic Marketing Department. In that role, she developed and oversaw the community outreach program for athletics: C.A.R.D.I.N.A.L.S. Standing Tall. She helped coordinate athletes' and staff participation in Habitat for Humanity and Big Brother/Big Sister events and created a series of WDRB commercials as public service announcements high-lighting U of L student-athletes. Norton came to U of L after a year as a graduate assistant at Eastern Kentucky University under the guidance of Dr. Geri Polvino. She hails from Buffalo, NY, where she coached her way to two consecutive gold medals at the Empire State Games as the Western New York head coach. She has also coached the 16- and 18-Junior Olympic squads for the Cheetah Volleyball Club, to bring home the 18's East Coast Championship from Penn State in 1992. In 1993, she was head coach at Erie Community College and served as Competition Site Coordinator for volleyball at the World University Games in Buffalo. A 1992 SUNY-Buffalo grad, she was the setter for Buffalo and majored in sports and exercise science. She and her husband, Chad, have two children, Andrew Joseph and Lilian Denise and they are expecting a child this December. |
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