Marquette announced the resignation of its Director of Athletics Larry Williams Thursday in an online university news release.
"We want to thank Larry for leading our student-athletes, coaches and athletic staff in our 16 competitive athletic programs for the past two years," Interim President Rev. Robert Wild, S.J. said. "We appreciate Larry's contributions to Marquette University, particularly for leading us into the newly reconfigured Big East and helping establish a unique partnership with Fox Sports. We wish him nothing but success in his future."
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Williams started the job on Jan. 1, 2012 after then president Rev. Scott Pilarz, S.J. hired him. Pilarz made Williams a vice president, so that he would report directly to him and not cause problems in chain of command like the last administration experienced.
Pilarz resigned shockingly in September just two years into his term as president and was replaced by Wild on an interim basis. Wild served as president for 11 years prior to his retirement in 2011. Wild chose former Marquette athletic director Bill Cords to replace Williams.
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"As I have worked closely with Bill Cords for many years, I have the utmost confidence that our athletic programs will be in good hands in this time of transition," Wild said. When Cords announced his retirement in 2006, Father Wild said that he "helped create athletic programs that are not only successful in terms of wins and losses but, most importantly, are successful in helping young men and women succeed as students and as human beings."
As far as possible reasons for Williams' sudden resignation, he could have felt disenchanted after the man who hired him retired. Rumors also have it that Williams didn't get along well with the university's highest paid employee, Marquette head coach Buzz Williams. The conflict between the two could have grown irreparable.