SOUTH BEND — As Vice President Kamala Harris bids to make history on the campaign trail, Notre Dame football recently bestowed a pair of notable promotions to Black women in the male-dominated world of college football.
In mid-July, Olivia Mitchell was named assistant athletic director for football operations and Zaire Turner was named director of player personnel.
“I think it gives us an edge because they’re really good at their jobs,” Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman said Wednesday. “This wasn’t a decision that was to create publicity. It wasn’t to do anything but to promote two people that really give us an advantage to have the best football program we (can).
“Olivia has done a terrific job and deserved her promotion, and the same thing with Zaire. She’s going to do a wonderful job as our director of player personnel.”
Mitchell, a 2016 Notre Dame graduate with a degree in marketing, spent the previous four years as football operations director for the Irish and has worked in football operations for her alma mater since April 2017. She previously held internships with the College Football Playoff, Athletes First and the NFL’s Chicago Bears.
Turner, a 2016 Texas Tech graduate, was hired in June 2022 as Notre Dame’s director of recruiting operations. She worked in the recruiting office at Virginia Tech from 2018-20, and her LinkedIn bio also notes a position as operations coordinator during that period.
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Turner then spent nearly two years in the Dallas area working for health care and marketing companies before being hired at Notre Dame.
“We’re just grateful to have them here, have them a part of our staff and to be able to keep them,” Freeman said. “They’re going to be a vital part for us really achieving the goal that we have.”
At least one other major football program has a woman in the role of player personnel director. On June 6, Baylor football named Callie Cameron to that post.
Also in July, Notre Dame football promoted Rebecca Sites to director of on-campus recruiting after previous stints as a recruiting intern (2017-2023) and recruiting analyst (2024). She worked full time for two years as a special education teacher for South Bend Community Schools.
In addition, Caleb Davis, a 2021 graduate of the University of Cincinnati, was re-hired as director of recruiting after a brief stint as co-general manager at Troy University in Alabama; and Carter Auman, a 2022 Notre Dame graduate, was promoted from recruiting analyst to assistant to the general manager (Chad Bowden) after reportedly receiving overtures from Wisconsin.
Davis replaced Dre Brown, a former Illinois running back who returned to his alma mater in April as director of player personnel.
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for NDInsider.com and the South Bend Tribune.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football continues to empower women with recent promotions
South Bend Tribune
