Law professor Randy Kozel to succeed Tricia Bellia as Chair of Faculty Board on Athletics and NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative
University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., has appointed Randy Kozel, the Fritz Duda Family Law Professor, to succeed Tricia Bellia, the William J. and Dorothy K. O’Neill Professor of Law, as chair of the University of Notre Dame’s Faculty Board on Athletics and its NCAA faculty athletics representative. Kozel’s appointment is effective Feb. 1, 2027.
“Randy is an outstanding teacher, scholar and administrator whose commitment to academic integrity and student development will serve the University well in this role,” Father Dowd said. “I am grateful to Randy for accepting this appointment and delighted that he will have the opportunity to work alongside Tricia in this period of transition. Tricia’s service in this role over the past 17 years has been exemplary. She has led the Faculty Board with her characteristic wisdom, integrity and dedication, and has also been extraordinarily influential on a national level at a time of dramatic change in college athletics, earning the deep respect both of her colleagues at Notre Dame and her peers at other institutions.”
Pete Bevacqua, vice president and James E. Rohr Director of Athletics, offered similar praise.
“We look forward to working with Randy as we pursue our mission to provide the best student-athlete experience in the country,” Bevacqua said. “Randy’s expertise and leadership make him a valued partner to athletics and a worthy successor to Tricia, who worked tirelessly and consistently to help Notre Dame lead in the college athletics space.”
“Randy is the perfect fit for this role,” Bellia said. “At this time of rapid change in intercollegiate athletics, Randy will ensure that our faculty has a voice in critical decisions and will uphold the University’s uncompromising commitment to the academic, athletic and personal growth of our student-athletes. I look forward to working with him in the months to come.”
A member of the Law School faculty since 2011, Kozel teaches and researches in fields including constitutional law, trademark law and contract law. He spent nine years serving as associate dean of the Law School and directs the Program on Constitutional Structure. He served on the Faculty Board on Athletics from 2019 to 2025, including as chair of its academic integrity subcommittee.
Kozel received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. Before arriving at Notre Dame, he clerked at a federal court of appeals and at the U.S. Supreme Court, worked as a litigator in a law firm, and served as special counsel to the general counsel at General Electric Co.
“I’m honored to serve in this role and grateful to Father Dowd for his trust in me,” Kozel said. “I look forward to working with our outstanding faculty, coaches, athletics staff and University partners to ensure, as Pete Bevacqua recently described it, ‘the holistic success of our students in the classroom, on the field and beyond.’”
He added, “I’m fortunate to benefit from the guidance of Tricia Bellia, whose service as chair has been truly exceptional.”
The Faculty Board on Athletics serves as the principal advisory group to Notre Dame’s president on educational issues related to athletics. The board is composed of 15 members: seven elected from the University’s teaching and research faculty; four appointed by the president (three from the teaching and research faculty and one from the student body); and four ex officio members — the vice president for student affairs, the director of athletics, the director of academic services for student-athletes, and a representative from the president’s office.
The board ensures that the University’s athletics program operates in consonance with Notre Dame’s educational mission, gathers faculty input on critical decisions about Notre Dame’s athletics program, nurtures Notre Dame’s commitment to academic integrity within the athletics program, and promotes student-athletes’ welfare and educational success. Among its activities, the board monitors data on the admission of student-athletes and their academic performance, progress toward degrees and graduation rates. It also assesses the effectiveness of institutional support for student-athletes.
The board’s activities closely match the responsibilities of the NCAA faculty athletics representative, who also is expected to advise the president, to help shape University policies affecting student-athletes and to work with other University leaders to address matters of mutual concern regarding the academic opportunities, challenges and performance of student-athletes. The faculty athletics representative also functions as a principal link between the institution and the NCAA and the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Originally published by at news.nd.edu on August 27, 2026.