Powell Named Pac-12 Coordinator of Volleyball Officials

SAN FRANCISCO - Bringing nearly 40 years of experience as an official and coach, Joan Powell was tabbed the new Coordinator of Women’s Volleyball Officiating, the Conference office announced today.

Powell comes to the Pac-12 after being appointed the first NCAA National Coordinator of Volleyball Officials in 2011. A highly skilled clinician, trainer and evaluator, she coordinated assignment, nomination and advancement process for the Division I, II and III NCAA Volleyball Championship committees and the Division I Championship Officiating Sub-Committee. She served as a consultant to the NCAA Volleyball Rules Committee while also developing educational tools for over 3,000 officials nation-wide, coordinating clinics throughout the country and edit the annual referee exam.

Powell has been a vital part of the NCAA/Professional Association of Volleyball Officials (PAVO) clinicians’ corps since its inception, as well as USA Volleyball’s Impact Certification and the Coaching Accreditation Program. She served five terms as president of PAVO, starting in that role in 1997; has served on the USA Volleyball Board of Directors and completed two terms on the National Association of Sports Officials Board of Directors. She has previously served on the National Federation (NF) Rules Committee and attended the NF Rules Meeting for the past 10 years, representing PAVO and NCAA. She has also recently served as technical advisor to the NF/USAV online coaches’ course.

Prior to her appointment to the NCAA, she was the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coordinator of Women’s Volleyball Officials where she supervised over 60 referees from five states for 14 NCAA Division II institutions in three states. She completed over 400 officials assignments each year and acted as the conference liaison for coaches, administrators and officials.

In 2008, she traveled with the U.S. Women’s National Team as their Team Leader to the Pan Am Cup, the World Grand Prix and to the Olympic Games in Beijing.  Powell has been inducted into seven Halls of Fame.

Powell retired from 32 years of coaching volleyball, 30 of which were spent at Coronado High School in Colorado Springs, Colo., where she taught as well and was named Disney Teacher of the Year in 1998. She has officiated for over 20 years as a USAV national referee and 30+ years at a PAVO national official. She has officiated the NCAA Division I, Division II & III championships several times, including multiple semifinal and final matches. Her latest championship was in 2009.

Powell’s duties with the Pac-12 will include implementing the Conference’s officiating program in women’s volleyball, as well as identifying, recruiting and assigning referees for Conference games and non-conference games at league institutions. She replaces Charlie Brown, who retired after the 2015 campaign after over two decades serving as the Conference’s Coordinator of Women’s Volleyball Officiating.