Jan. 2, 2002
University of Notre Dame head volleyball coach Debbie Brown will take part in the Olympic Torch Relay in South Bend, Ind., this Friday, Jan. 4, as the Olympic Flame makes its way to Salt Lake City, Utah, for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Brown, who captained the 1980 U.S. Olympic Volleyball Team that did not compete in the ’80 Olympic Games due to the United States boycott, will begin her section of the relay at the corner of Juniper and Eddy just south of Notre Dame Stadium.
The Relay will begin in South Bend at 9 a.m. on Friday, at the intersection of state road 933 and Douglas Road. The Torchbearers will carry the Olympic Flame into South Bend following Juniper Road and continue south on Eddy Street to Jefferson Boulevard. The Relay will then turn west on Jefferson, cross the St. Joseph River, and continue east on Wayne to Main Street. The relay will run south on Main Street to Western Avenue and travel west to Scott Street. The route will continue on Scott Street to Washington Street, where it will turn right again and head into downtown South Bend. The Relay will continue across the College Football Hall of Fame Gridiron, cross St. Joseph Street, and enter Century Center at approximately 10 a.m. for the City Celebration of the Olympic Spirit.
The celebration will last approximately 30 minutes before the torchbearers carry the Olympic Flame north along SR 933 to the Indiana Toll Road, where the Relay will continue to Chicago, Ill.
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.