Vice President and Director of Athletics

Position Overview

The Vice President and Director of Athletics provides leadership for a department of approximately 100 coaches and staff who are deeply committed to student-athlete success.

Reporting directly to the president, the AD is responsible for overseeing 16 varsity sports, engaging more than 300 student-athletes.

As leader of Marquette Athletics, the AD maintains a positive culture within the department and promotes the role of athletics in the community culture, nourishing a strong bond of loyalty and spirit among students, faculty and staff, parents, alumni, friends of the university and fans of Golden Eagle Athletics.

The AD guides the overall direction of the athletic department in concert with the values and mission of the university.

Marquette Athletics (the Golden Eagles) offers opportunities that enrich the lives of student-athletes and that are consistent with and complementary to the university’s mission.

Marquette sponsors 16 NCAA Division I varsity sports and is a founding member of the current Big East Conference. With core values such as respect, stewardship and integrity, Marquette seeks to develop men and women through athletics to positively impact the world.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as a leader with strong personal values who is committed to operating within the rules and in alignment with the core values and Catholic, Jesuit mission of Marquette University.
• Live by, lead, and promote Marquette’s Guiding Values while ensuring the holistic success of the University’s student-athletes on and off the fields of play.
• Use an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset to create and implement a strategic plan to achieve a vision.
• Creatively connect and collaborate with, then inspire and motivate, a wide range of stakeholders such as student-athletes, coaches, athletics staff, University faculty and staff, donors, alumni, fans, and external partners.
• Serve as a competitive, confident, inspiring, motivated, and experienced leader who has hired, mentored, managed, empowered, and held people accountable.
• Organize and manage the responsibilities of the AD with humility and decisiveness while consulting and collaborating with and advising the President, President’s Cabinet, Vice President(s), University Trustees, and other University leadership groups on the issues critical to the Athletics Department’s success.
• Practice attentive listening in an effort to seek and be responsive to the opinions and perspectives of the key athletics practitioners and University leadership groups.
• Serve as a consensus-builder who knows the importance of transparency and collaboration with the institution’s leadership groups when it comes to developing policies and managing processes such as budget development, NCAA and Big East Conference legislative strategies, etc.
• Develop and cultivate strong national relationships in intercollegiate athletics and higher education.
• Support competitive athletics while prioritizing student-athlete health, safety, academic, and holistic success.
• Serve as a servant leader of uncompromising integrity who demands from others unwavering compliance with the regulations, rules, and requirements of Marquette University, the NCAA, the Big East Conference, and any other applicable governing body.
• Respect differences and embrace the principles of diversity, equity, opportunity, and inclusion.
• Understand the challenges faced by a Division I athletics program and experience dealing with the issues that define college athletics today (e.

g., NIL, pay for play, transfer portal, NCAA transformation, mental health & safety, conference realignment, legal challenges, etc.

Have experience working through the NCAA’s challenging administrative processes related to issues such as governance, compliance, rules enforcement, championships, eligibility, revenue sharing, legislative processes, equity, etc.

• Demonstrate commitment to the success of all student-athletes with demonstrated experience supporting all sports and providing every student-athlete with a championship experience.
• Understand and implement athletics giving strategies and thrive on the opportunity to engage donors and donor prospects and to solicit philanthropic support for the athletics programs.
• Serve as an inspiring and innovative leader who is not content with the status quo and willing to take risks while staying true to the University’s values, history, and traditions.
• Grow resources and promote Marquette University and its athletics program through innovation and creative thinking.
• Understand how to leverage ever-changing technology to advance the athletics program. Understand how to leverage media, marketing, and content strategy to enhance the visibility of Marquette athletics in the highly competitive Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Big East Conference markets and on the national stage.
• Serve as a respected representative of the University and is comfortable dealing with the media and the public aspects required of the position.
• Serve as a thoughtful leader who takes the time to form strong relationships within Athletics, the campus community, and with alums and fans.
• Lead with fiscal responsible, sound business instincts, and bring experience managing budgets and growing resources while also showing a commitment to a broad-based program where all sports and student-athletes are valued.
• Understand and work within the funding and budget guidelines set by the University.
• Bring experience in revenue generating initiatives (marketing, sales, promotion, and event management sponsorships, media rights, affinity partnerships, branding, etc.).
• Have comfort and experience working with a staff size and department budget that is similar to that of Marquette Athletics.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• A Bachelor’s Degree is required with a Master’s Degree strongly preferred.
• Minimum of ten (10) years of Division I athletic administrative experience and / or similar type of leadership role in relevant field.
• An individual who will live by, lead, and promote Marquette’s Guiding Values while ensuring the holistic success of the University’s student-athletes on and off the fields of play.
• Demonstrate significant experience working with the sport of basketball, especially at the elite NCAA Division 1 level.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Comprehensive knowledge of intercollegiate athletics, including experience at the Division I level.
• Working knowledge of NCAA Division I athletics programs and what the requirements to achieve success at that level within the changing policy landscape.

Experience dealing with issues such as NIL, transfer portal, conference realignment, Transformation Committee, and student-athlete mental health and wellness.

• A focus on student success, with demonstrated commitment to supporting student-athlete health, safety, and holistic wellness, as well as their academic, athletic, and personal success.
• Demonstrate vision and passion for the values of higher education.
• Have significant senior-level management experience including experience with budgets, facilities, operations, personnel, academics, compliance and student-athlete development.
• Demonstrated success in managing a multi-million-dollar budget.
• Excellent organizational, management, planning and marketing skills.
• Demonstrate high integrity and ethical standards.
• Ability to meet and work well with the public and external stakeholders.
• Evidence of excellent public speaking, interpersonal, team-building, problem-solving, and leadership skills.

Department Intercollegiate Athletics