Jan. 4, 2002
University of Notre Dame head volleyball coach Debbie Brown enjoyed another Olympic moment in her career on Friday, Jan. 4, serving as a Torchbearer for the 2002 Winter Olympic Torch Relay as it made its way through campus and the South Bend, Ind., area.
Brown ran .02 miles with the torch, carrying it from the edge of the Notre Dame campus toward the downtown South Bend area.
The nominations for the local torchbearers started in the spring and the nominees were required to embody the inspirational spirit of the Olympics by serving and motivating the community. All nominations from throughout the country were sent to a central location, organized by zip code, and then distributed to approximately 100 judging sectors.
While a junior at USC in 1978, Brown accepted an invitation to train full-time with the U.S. National Volleyball Team. She captained the team to a fifth-place finish at the ’78 World Championship before earning a spot on the 1980 Olympic team.
She continued her association with the national team in 1986 as a consultant, and she emerged as a full-time assistant in 1988, aiding the team’s ’88 Olympic effort and a 1990 campaign that resulted in a bronze medal at the World Championships.
In May of 1995, Brown was named an “All-Time Great Volleyball Player” by USA Volleyball.