Salt
Lake Community College Director of Athletics Norma Carr recently announced that she is retiring at the
end of July.
Carr
has been at the helm of the SLCC athletics programs for 25 years, and in that
time she has overseen the construction of multiple athletics facilities for the
Bruins. She has helped guide the coaches and teams under her watch to numerous
Scenic West Athletic Conference and Region 18 championships, including the 2009
NJCAA National Championship in men’s basketball.
“Norma Carr has
led SLCC's Athletic Department with passion, relentless energy and the perfect
competitive spirit,” said SLCC Interim President Deneece Huftalin. “While she
has consistently led us to regional and national wins, she has done it always
with a student centered focus. Our athletes at SLCC are academically and
athletically strong largely due to the values and leadership that Norma has
demonstrated. I am happy for her personally but will definitely feel her
absence! She's a remarkable woman, leader and friend.”
Through
the Title IX initiative, Carr was also a leader in bringing equality to women
in athletics, especially those competing at the high school level.
“My
time here at Salt Lake Community College has been unbelievable,” said Carr.
“Over these many years I’ve had so many memories and relationships that I’ll
never forget. This was a difficult decision to make and it’s very hard for me
to leave.”
Norma
was the first woman in Utah to serve as an athletic director for both men’s and
women’s sports programs and was also the first woman to officiate boys’ high
school basketball games in the state. She was one of the few women named to the
Top 25 Most Influential People in Utah Sports list.
Carr’s
successful tenure at the University of Utah included 14 years as softball coach,
4 seasons on the coaching staff for volleyball, and one year as an assistant on the Ute women’s
basketball staff. While at the U of U, Norma was named Coach of the Year
multiple times and served as an assistant to the women’s athletic director as
well.
Since
becoming Director of Athletics at SLCC in 1989, she has taken a struggling department
that consisted of only two sports (men’s and women’s basketball) and built it
into a successful and highly competitive five-sport program.
Director
Carr has been the recipient of many awards and accolades, including the Days of
’47 Pioneers of Progress Award and induction into the U of U’s Crimson Club
Hall of Fame and Utah Softball Hall of Fame.
She was named National Administrator of the Year in 2009 by the National
Association of Collegiate Women’s Athletics.
Norma
coordinated game officials in the Western Athletic Conference and is currently the
Mountain West Conference arbiter and Region Director of the NJCAA’s Region 18,
in which the Bruins compete. She is also the chairperson for NJCAA Division I
Softball.
