Marshall University Athletics
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Bob Marcum joined the Marshall University staff on July 1, 2002. Marcum, a Huntington native and Marshall graduate, returned to lead the Marshall athletic department after serving as the athletic director at the University of Massachusetts for nine years. A well-respected and experienced veteran in the world of college athletics, Marcum has already made a significant impact at his alma mater.
Arguably, Marcum's greatest accomplishment at Marshall is securing the Herd's inclusion in the new Conference-USA which began competition in the fall of 2005. The Herd's move to Conference USA provides Marshall athletics greater exposure in some of the nation's top media markets, a greater potential for revenue in television and marketing, more football bowl game options, and an increased level of competition in all varsity sports.
On the field, the nationally-recognized football program has continued to flourish under Marcum with a Mid-American Conference championship in December of 2002 and another GMAC Bowl win later that year. Olympic sports have also seen considerable success, with the 2003 Softball regular season championship, a national championship appearance at the NCAA Doubles Championships in women's tennis in the Spring of 2004, and the most-recent 2005 Conference USA Volleyball Championship. Women's basketball and volleyball have made tremendous strides since Marcum's arrival, putting togeother two of the biggest turnarounds in the nation over the last two years.
Marcum has also overseen considerable upgrades and improvements to many of the Thundering Herd's athletic venues, including upgrades at both Joan C. Edwards Stadium and the Cam Henderson Center.
In the classroom, Marshall athletes have succeeded at the highest levels - two of Marshall's seven Academic All-Americans have been selected in the last three years. Women's soccer's Kelly Kennedy accomplished the feat in the fall of 2002, while volleyball's Isabell Anderer was named to the team in both 2002 and 2003.
Marcum came to Marshall from UMass, where he was just the third individual to serve as athletic director at UMass since 1948. In addition to being recognized as the Atlantic 10's dominant all-around athletic program, UMass produced more Atlantic 10 all-academic selections than any other league school over the past seven years, and has led the conference in academic all-league picks six times in that stretch. In its ninth full academic year under Marcum's direction in 2001-2002, UMass won the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Cup for the sixth time in the eight years.
Recognized as one of the most knowledgeable and experienced in his field, Marcum has forged an outstanding reputation in intercollegiate athletics. His leadership and vision were instrumental in UMass' rise to prominence in the 1990s, and his diligent efforts were recognized by his peers when he was honored as the 1999 NACDA Northeast Region I-AA Athletic Director of the Year.
An outstanding athlete during his youth in Huntington, W.Va., Marcum attended Marshall where he earned his Bachelor's degree in Social Studies and Physical Education in 1959. Still an avid golfer and stock car enthusiast, Marcum has displayed a philosophy that stresses the importance of combining athletics and academics in a young person's life.
His knowledge of the inner workings of college athletics stems from the wide spectrum of sports related positions Marcum has held. After earning his Master's degree in Education Administration from the University of Akron in 1970, Marcum served as Associate Athletic Director at Iowa State University from 1971 to 1978. He left Iowa State to become the Director of Athletics at the University of Kansas, a position he held from 1978 to 1982.
Marcum then took over the reins as the Director of Athletics at the University of South Carolina from 1982 to 1988. During his time at South Carolina he led the school into the Metro Conference (its first conference affiliation in more than a decade) and watched the athletic program capture a pair of Metro Conference all-sport championships.
Marcum went to UMass, located in Amherst, Mass., from his post as vice president and general manager of the Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he served from October 1990 through February 1992. He was vice president of the Charlotte Motor Speedway from July 1988 through October 1990.
A member of the Executive Committee of the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA), Marcum completed three-year terms with the powerful NCAA Championships and Competition Cabinet and the NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee on August 31, 2001.
It is this knowledge and experience, coupled with a genuine way of dealing with people that has given Marcum his reputation as an athletic director who cares not only about his program, but more importantly, the people in it.
Born October 29, 1936, Marcum has one daughter, Diana, a 1980 graduate of Iowa State, and three grandchildren.