Northwestern University announced the promotion of Janna Blais to Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) & Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) for Northwestern Athletics and Recreation in July 2025. A highly respected and accomplished leader in collegiate athletics, Blais, who most recently served as Deputy Director of Athletics (Administration and Policy) & Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) since 2016, oversees critical departments focused on the holistic development and well-being of student-athletes.
As CAO/SWA, Blais is responsible for overseeing departments and units dedicated to graduating complete student-athletes, including NCAA Compliance, Academic Services, INVEST NU (Student Development), Student-Athlete Health and Wellness, and Recreation. She serves as a key internal liaison to university offices such as Admissions, Registrar, Financial Aid, Residence Life, General Counsel, Dean of Students, Office of Community Standards, and the Committee on Athletics and Recreation (CAR). Blais also works closely with the Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance, serving as a Deputy Title IX Coordinator focused on discrimination and harassment prevention. Additionally, Blais is the primary sport administrator for women's basketball and women's cross country and track, and secondary sport administrator for the women’s lacrosse program. She works closely with Northwestern Medicine, the Chief Operating Officer, and sport administrators to optimize the Health and Wellness High Performance Team and serves as the primary contact with student affairs, including an operational relationship with the Counseling and Psychological Services department.
Blais has been a pivotal and influential leader in collegiate athletics since joining Northwestern in 2010, including serving as Interim Combe Family Vice President for Athletics and Recreation in 2021. Beyond Evanston, Blais has been a visible and influential leader across collegiate athletics. In summer 2021, she was selected by the Women Leaders in Sports Board of Directors – a board she now serves on – to a four-year term as the Senior Woman Administrator Appointee to the 24-member NCAA Division I Board of Directors. In January 2022, she was appointed to the 21-member NCAA Division I Transformation Committee, tasked with recommending forward-thinking changes to the NCAA Board of Directors.
Within the Big Ten Conference, Blais is an active member of both the Joint Group and Administrators Council. She currently serves on several key subcommittees, including the Olympic Sport Oversight Committee, Academics and Eligibility Committee, and Legislative Review Committee. Her past contributions include service on the Budget Review Committee, Compliance and Reinstatement Subcommittee, and the Drug Testing Review Subcommittee. In 2015, Blais was appointed to the NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Committee for a four-year term, serving as chair during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.
Her exemplary contributions have been recognized nationally. In 2013, she received the Women Leaders in College Sports Division I FBS Administrator of the Year Award, and in 2010, she was honored by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association as the Administrator of the Year, recognizing her commitment to the sport's growth and her influence as a positive role model for female student-athletes.
Before joining Northwestern, Blais spent more than a decade at Bowling Green State University as the Senior Associate Athletics Director and SWA, where she served a four-year term on the NCAA Division I Softball Committee, chairing the group in her final year. Prior to Bowling Green, she was the Assistant Director of Athletics for Institutional Compliance/SWA at the University of Hartford. Earlier in her career, Blais served as an assistant softball coach at her alma mater, the University of Connecticut.
A native of Lakeville, Massachusetts, Blais earned her undergraduate degree in Sports Medicine/Athletic Training from the University of Connecticut, where she was a standout softball player. She captained the Huskies during her senior year, leading them to a fifth-place finish at the Women’s College World Series, and earned East Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year and All-America honors over her final two seasons. Blais, a three-time Big East Player of the Year, earned NATA certification in athletic training and completed her master’s degree in Sport Management from UConn.
Blais and her husband, Michael, have two sons, Brady and Jace.
As CAO/SWA, Blais is responsible for overseeing departments and units dedicated to graduating complete student-athletes, including NCAA Compliance, Academic Services, INVEST NU (Student Development), Student-Athlete Health and Wellness, and Recreation. She serves as a key internal liaison to university offices such as Admissions, Registrar, Financial Aid, Residence Life, General Counsel, Dean of Students, Office of Community Standards, and the Committee on Athletics and Recreation (CAR). Blais also works closely with the Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance, serving as a Deputy Title IX Coordinator focused on discrimination and harassment prevention. Additionally, Blais is the primary sport administrator for women's basketball and women's cross country and track, and secondary sport administrator for the women’s lacrosse program. She works closely with Northwestern Medicine, the Chief Operating Officer, and sport administrators to optimize the Health and Wellness High Performance Team and serves as the primary contact with student affairs, including an operational relationship with the Counseling and Psychological Services department.
Blais has been a pivotal and influential leader in collegiate athletics since joining Northwestern in 2010, including serving as Interim Combe Family Vice President for Athletics and Recreation in 2021. Beyond Evanston, Blais has been a visible and influential leader across collegiate athletics. In summer 2021, she was selected by the Women Leaders in Sports Board of Directors – a board she now serves on – to a four-year term as the Senior Woman Administrator Appointee to the 24-member NCAA Division I Board of Directors. In January 2022, she was appointed to the 21-member NCAA Division I Transformation Committee, tasked with recommending forward-thinking changes to the NCAA Board of Directors.
Within the Big Ten Conference, Blais is an active member of both the Joint Group and Administrators Council. She currently serves on several key subcommittees, including the Olympic Sport Oversight Committee, Academics and Eligibility Committee, and Legislative Review Committee. Her past contributions include service on the Budget Review Committee, Compliance and Reinstatement Subcommittee, and the Drug Testing Review Subcommittee. In 2015, Blais was appointed to the NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Committee for a four-year term, serving as chair during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.
Her exemplary contributions have been recognized nationally. In 2013, she received the Women Leaders in College Sports Division I FBS Administrator of the Year Award, and in 2010, she was honored by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association as the Administrator of the Year, recognizing her commitment to the sport's growth and her influence as a positive role model for female student-athletes.
Before joining Northwestern, Blais spent more than a decade at Bowling Green State University as the Senior Associate Athletics Director and SWA, where she served a four-year term on the NCAA Division I Softball Committee, chairing the group in her final year. Prior to Bowling Green, she was the Assistant Director of Athletics for Institutional Compliance/SWA at the University of Hartford. Earlier in her career, Blais served as an assistant softball coach at her alma mater, the University of Connecticut.
A native of Lakeville, Massachusetts, Blais earned her undergraduate degree in Sports Medicine/Athletic Training from the University of Connecticut, where she was a standout softball player. She captained the Huskies during her senior year, leading them to a fifth-place finish at the Women’s College World Series, and earned East Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year and All-America honors over her final two seasons. Blais, a three-time Big East Player of the Year, earned NATA certification in athletic training and completed her master’s degree in Sport Management from UConn.
Blais and her husband, Michael, have two sons, Brady and Jace.