Marquette athletic director Bill Scholl plans to retire as he ends a decade-long tenure

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Marquette athletic director Bill Scholl says he plans to retire and end his decade-long tenure as soon as the school names his successor.

Scholl, who took over as Marquette’s athletic director in 2014, announced his decision Tuesday.

“It has been an honor to work at such a special place surrounded by remarkable people,” Scholl said in a statement. “I am most proud of our student-athletes, who have excelled not only in competition but in the classroom and the community as women and men for others. My family and I deeply appreciate how this community has welcomed us from the start. Marquette will always have a special place in our hearts.”

Marquette is beginning a national search for a new athletic director with help from Collegiate Sports Associates. The search committee will be chaired by Kati Berg, a faculty athletics representative and associate professor at Marquette’s Diederich College of Communication.

Scholl helped spark the rejuvenation of the Marquette men’s basketball program in 2021 by hiring Shaka Smart away from Texas after firing Steve Wojciechowski. Marquette has posted a 75-30 record under Smart and has reached the NCAA Tournament in each of his three seasons. The Golden Eagles reached the Sweet 16 this year after winning the Big East’s regular-season and tournament titles in 2023.

Last month, Scholl hired Cara Consuegra from Charlotte to take over the women’s basketball program after Megan Duffy left for Virginia Tech. Scholl had hired Duffy, who went 110-46 in five seasons at Marquette.

Scholl came to Marquette after working as Ball State’s athletic director from 2012-14. He spent 23 years at Notre Dame and rose to the level of deputy athletics director before Ball State hired him.

Since Scholl arrived at Marquette, more than $10 million has been raised for Marquette’s various sports excellence funds. Marquette opened a $3.6 million dome in 2017 that provides indoor competition and training space for the school’s soccer, track, golf, and men’s and women’s lacrosse programs.

The school opened its Athletic and Human Performance Research Center in 2019 to provide offices, locker rooms and team space for golf and men’s and women’s lacrosse. The building includes an indoor training facility for men’s golf. Funds are being raised for a second phase of the center that will include men’s basketball practice facilities, sports medicine space for student-athletes and locker rooms for Olympic sports teams.

“Bill had two goals when he arrived at Marquette – to convey excellence and responsibility within the athletics department, and to provide for, nurture and develop student-athletes,” Marquette President Michael Lovell said in a statement. “He achieved those goals and contributed to the legacy of our athletics program in countless ways that have benefited our student-athletes, coaches and athletics staff, and for that, our Marquette community will always be grateful.

“I appreciate all he has done for our athletics program and for Marquette University. Amy and I will miss him and his wife Julie greatly.”