Norwin expected to name Michael Burrell new director of athletics, activities

By: Paul Schofield
Thursday, August 13, 2020 | 2:46 PM

The Norwin school board could hire Michael Burrell Jr. as the district’s next director of athletics and activities at its meeting Monday.

Burrell was the recommended candidate on a list of new hires on the agenda for the board’s planning meeting this week. He would replace Brandon Rapp, who was hired as athletic director at Hempfield in June.

This would be the second time Norwin has hired Burrell for the position.

The school board hired Burrell to be the new athletic director in 2013 at a salary of $55,000 per year to replace Randy Rovesti, who was retiring. Burrell was an assistant under Rovesti for two years before taking the North Catholic job in 2012. Ultimately, Burrell decided to remain in the same position at North Catholic.

Burrell is currently the athletic director at Greensburg Salem. He was hired by a 7-2 vote in January 2019 with an annual salary of $75,000.

There were 94 applicants for the Norwin position, according to director of communications and development Jonathan Szish, a spokesman for the district.

The group was trimmed to 11. The candidates were interviewed by the athletic committee on Zoom and then face-to-face with masks and social distancing.

Burrell’s annual salary at Norwin will be $84,000.

Since Rapp was hired at Hempfield, former football coach Tim McCabe has served as Norwin’s interim athletic director.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg Salem, Norwin