A new associate athletics director for NCAA compliance joined the Horned Frog family Monday.Andrea Nordmann came to TCU from the University of Miami where she served as assistant director of compliance for financial aid. She replaced Kyle Brennan, who resigned Oct. 3 to accept a position at Ball State University in Indiana. His reason for the move was to be closer to his wife’s family, said Marcy Girton, associate director of athletics and senior women’s administrator.
The position has been vacant since then, but assistant athletics directors of compliance John Cunningham and Kyle Yates split the job responsibilities.
Nordmann’s responsibilities include overseeing athletic eligibility and financial aid, as well as answering questions from coaches or athletes regarding interpretation of the NCAA rules, Cunningham said.
TCU called all the well-known conferences during its search, including the Big 12, Big 10, Pac 10, the SEC and the ACC, Girton said, and Nordmann received a recommendation from the ACC.
Nordmann said the welcoming atmosphere TCU projects and the quality of the sports teams were big draws for her.
“When I came for my interview, I really felt like it was a good family atmosphere,” Nordmann said on her first day. “I really enjoyed my visit here. It’s a team here. Fort Worth is a great area, and the sports programs have done very well here.”
Girton, who helped hire Nordmann, said the athletic department looked for someone carrying years of experience in the specialized field from a university of comparable size.
“Andrea’s coming from Miami, which is a private school that’s good in football and several other sports, so her experience there is similar to TCU,” Girton said.
Nordmann’s experience as women’s basketball coach and player also helped her land the position out of a pool of 75 applicants, Girton said.
With her past in college athletics, Nordmann said, she is able to better understand the frustration that can arise over an NCAA policy.
“Coaches always have difficulty understanding why some of the rules and regulations are in place and sometimes don’t agree with them,” Nordmann said. “I think having been a coach myself and a student-athlete, I understand what they’re all going through, and I understand some of those rules and regulations might not be the greatest thing.”
Cunningham said Nordmann will be an asset to all the coaches and players she works with daily.
“I think she’s really going to be strong in communication between coaches, players and staff and make sure that everybody’s working together to follow NCAA rules,” Cunnigham said. “That’s really her strength.