Marquette Hires New Athletic Director

By J.Brig- Marquette Fan | Posted Wednesday, December 14

Marquette has named Larry Williams as their new athletic director. Williams was formerly in the same position at the University of Portland where he directed the program to their first-ever national ranking in three sports. Williams has a long history in athletics as both an administrator and participant. He graduated from Notre Dame in 1985, after earning two All-American honors as a lineman for the Fighting Irish football team. After college, Williams went on to play professional football in Cleveland, and was then traded to multiple teams before retiring in 1993. During his time in the NFL, he was also attending school at the University of San Diego. He acquired a law degree, and worked in his chosen field before being hired by Notre Dame.

Williams takes over for Mike Broeker the interim athletic director who has been in charge since Steve Cottingham's resignation in June. One of Williams’ most pressing issues will be finding ways to fund all the sports programs that currently rely on the basketball team for their existence. Marquette has the highest per-player operating cost of any team in the Big East – at nearly 200k per student athlete.

Marquette's President, Father Scott Pilarz first met with Williams in Chicago, after an extensive search for candidates provided only a few stand-outs. Pilarz says he was impressed by Williams from the start. Pilarz was happy to fill the vacancy before the end of the year, and is hoping that Williams will be able to keep the athletic department stable amidst intense conference realignment. The Big East has already lost Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. Williams told reporters that he is aware of the task that awaits him, and he looks forward to working with an organization that he remembers since the days of Al McGuire.