Bringing nearly thirty years of track and field experience to the bayou, Heather Van Norman joined Nicholls as the head coach for Colonels track and field and cross country.
“We are fortunate to be able to attract someone of Heather's experience to Nicholls. She is a fine addition to our coaching staff. Our student-athletes will benefit greatly from her knowledge and leadership," said Nicholls State Athletics Director Rob Bernardi.
Van Norman brings a winning attitude to Thibodaux and has the hardware to back it up. A sprinter for LSU from 1989-95, she was a six-time All-American for the Tigers winning three-straight NCAA outdoor titles from 1991-93, two indoor national titles in 1991 and 1993 and won both indoor and outdoor SEC titles in 1993 and 1995.
"I am so honored to be a member of the Nicholls family, and I thank Rob and Dr. Boudreaux for the opportunity to work at such an amazing university," Van Norman said. "I hope to be able to continue the success the track and field and cross country programs have had and continue to build on it to become one of the best in the Southland Conference."
Her coaching career began at Rice, where after two years she moved on to become an assistant at Georgia Tech and spent four years in Atlanta.
It was then in 2002 when Van Norman was named the head coach at Tulane University and spent the next seven years producing student-athletes who made 16 NCAA Championship meet appearances and 44 NCAA Mideast Regional appearances.
Van Norman has coached one All-American in Gloria Asumnu, along with 144 all-conference nominations, who won 14 Conference USA individual titles in various events.
Her teams also competed well in the classroom as 70 of her individual team members made the C-USA Academic Honor Roll, as well as having a Capital One Academic All-District award winner and C-USA Post Graduate Scholarship recipient.
Individually, Van Norman was a part of three national championship relay teams in 1993, winning the indoor and outdoor 4x400m and outdoor 4x100m relay. In 1991 she helped set an American record in the 4x200m relay, following that up in 1992 with an SEC indoor title in the 400m run and spot in the U.S. Olympic Trials that were held in New Orleans.
Van Norman began her career at the University of Minnesota in 1988 where she was named Freshman Track Athlete of the Year.
Van Norman has two children, Odell - a former LSU wide receiver and current New York Giant - and Jasmyne.Â
