Bill Scholl named Marquette’s new Athletic Director

Photo courtesy of Marquette.edu

Marquette has one less vacancy in its administrative team after tapping Bill Scholl to be the new Athletic Director.

Scholl is currently the AD at Ball State but will take over duties in Milwaukee in mid-October, according to Marquette’s announcement. He began his tenure there in 2012 after spending 23 years at Notre Dame. 

From Marquette’s release:

“Our search committee did a tremendous job of finding a leader who embraces our tradition, shares our values and shows an adept ability to navigate the changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics,” said President Michael R. Lovell.  “Bill brings a combination of strong leadership qualities that are grounded in integrity, an extensive history of leading successful athletic programs and a track record of developing student-athletes who are scholars and who compete at the highest level of NCAA athletics.”

The AD position had been filled in the interim basis by former AD Bill Cords since December, when Larry Williams resigned. Cords had previously stated he would remain AD until the spring in a press conference called during the heat of the coaching search. The lack of leadership at the time was widely cited as a deterrent for potential coaches, particularly Shaka Smart.

In the end, the search did not require Cords to stay on past the fall semester. 

One interesting note is Scholl’s Notre Dame credentials, having graduated from there and having spent a large portion of his career at his Alma Mater. Larry Williams, also a Notre Dame alum had trouble endearing himself to the fan-base and donors after clashing with former coach Buzz Williams. A source within the administration confirmed to Paint Touches earlier in the year that Williams was fired in part to please a prominent donor who thought Larry did not appreciate Buzz enough.

Having a permanent AD is important going forward as the NCAA landscape is shifting towards autonomy for the former BCS schools and the Bucks’ arena situation continues to develop.     

More information on Scholl can be found here.