Dr. William A. Marshall, known as "Doc" has been a leader ofcollegiate athletics on the conference, regional and national levelsince joining the F&M athletic staff in 1971. Marshall willbecome the 136th member of the F&M Sports Hall of Fame. It willmark the first time in history of the elite group that a single newmember was inducted, giving Marshall the distinction of being "In AClass By Himself." "Bill Marshall has served F&M energeticallyfor 28 years," said President Richard Kneedler. "His tenure hasbeen marked by enormous change and growth. We congratulate him forhis leadership and wish him and (wife) Julie a happy retirementfollowing his presidency of the ECAC."
Originally from East Troy, W.I., Marshall earned his bachelor's,master's and doctorate degrees in health and physical educationfrom the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was a four-yearletterwinner in football, basketball and baseball on the scholasticlevel, but concentrated on baseball during his collegiate career.Marshall joined the F&M staff in 1971 and served as director ofathletics and recreation for 27 years. For the past 16 months, heserved as special assistant for athletics to Dr. Alice Drum, VicePresident of the College, and as president of the 292-memberEastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).
He will retire from the College in October. A strong advocate ofexpanding athletic opportunities for women, he was instrumental inintroducing 11 sports for women within a decade after F&Mbecame a coeducational institution in 1969. He was alsoinstrumental in promoting women's varsity sports on the conference,regional and national levels. F&M currently sponsors 26 varsitysports-13 for men and 13 for women. The College also sponsors anumber of club sports, such as crew, rugby and ice hockey, anintramural program and other recreational and wellness activities.In 1974, Marshall became the co-coach of the men's varsity squashteam and assumed the head coaching responsibilities three yearslater.
In 1987, the Diplomats finished with a 15-1 overall record andwere ranked No. 2 in the country. In 18 seasons, Marshall's teamcompiled a 233-129-1 overall record (64.3%). His teams wereconsistently ranked among the Top 10 in the country and producednumerous All-Americans before he relinquished the coaching dutiesin 1991. Among his other duties, Marshall oversaw the conversion ofthe F&M Sports Hall of Fame from a football-only group to onethat is now an annual celebration including athletes and coachesfrom all 26 varsity sports.
In the past decade, he oversaw the construction of several newathletic facilities, beginning with the re-construction of thefootball/lacrosse field and the installation of the eight-lanesynthetic surface of William J. Iannicelli Track (which replaced aseven-lane cinder track) at Sponaugle-Williamson Field. Otherfacility upgrades included a new baseball stadium at F&M'sBaker Campus outdoor athletic complex, the addition of fourinternational-size squash courts in the Mayser Center lowergymnasium and the construction of the Alumni Sports & FitnessCenter (ASFC). The ASFC includes the 50-meter Olympic size GeorgeMcGinness Pool and Schnader Field House, which includes fivefull-size courts (convertible for basketball, tennis, volleyball,etc.), a six-lane, 200-meter track and the Poorbaugh AerobicFitness Center.
Marshall has also served on many conference, regional andnational committees. He was active in the initial planning stagesfor the Centennial Conference, which was formed as a football-onlyplaying league in 1983 and was expanded to an all-sports conferencein 1993. He served as the president of the Eastern IntercollegiateWrestling Association (EIWA), the Division I conference of whichF&M is a member, and served four-year teams on the NCAA Counciland the NCAA Division III Steering Committee. He was also a memberof the NCAA Eligibility and Interpretation committees.
During the 1998-99 academic year, Marshall served as presidentof the ECAC, which included 292-member institutions from NCAADivision I, II and III from Maine to North Carolina. It was animportant year for the ECAC as the organization, behind Marshalland first-year Commissioner Phil Buttafuoco, underwentrestructuring to meet the needs of its diverse membership for the21st century. Marshall has previously served on the ECAC Counciland as chairman of the ECAC Finance and Eligibility committees.
Marshall and his wife, Julie, have four sons (Kevin, Kirk, Timand Todd) and five grandchildren. Kevin, Tim and Todd are F&Mgraduates.
