Final 2002-03 MBB Stats

Buzz Williams and Vander Blue reflect on the 2003 Final Four Team

Former head coach Tom Crean's message to Marquette fans

The 2003 anniversary video that played in the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Feb. 16 (produced by TriMarq)

As one might imagine, those back in his hometown of Knoxville, Tenn. have a special curiosity about Summitt's work here in Milwaukee.

Television news outlets in Knoxville have delivered for those viewers, sending reporters and photographers to the Al McGuire Center to chronicle the path of Summitt, who traveled more than 600 miles from home to begin building his career.

Over the weekend, WATE (ABC) was on hand for Saturday's win over DePaul - Jim Wogan had a two-part story, including one with Tyler mic'd up in game:

PART 1 - Tyler Summitt follows in mom's coaching footsteps at Marquette

WBIR's (CBS) Kris Budden had her own two-part story, including one that details Summitt's departure at a difficult time:

PART 1 - Tyler Summitt paving his own coaching path 

Marquette University student-athletes Jake Richard, Anna Muzika, Catherine Mayer, and John Mau attended the APPLE Conference in Indianapolis, Ind., on Jan. 25-27, joining representatives from 75 other institutions across NCAA Division I, II, and III.

APPLE conferences, developed and coordinated by the Gordie Center for Substance Abuse Prevention at the University of Virginia, are the leading national training symposiums dedicated to substance abuse prevention and health promotion for student athletes and athletics department administrators. 

Material for the conference presented by the Marquette contingent was the university's "Back Out Before Blackout" campaign, which was funded by the NCAA CHOICES grant in partnerships with the Marquette Offices of Student Development and Intercollegiate Athletics. 

As part of the convention, student-athletes got the chance to meet with NCAA president Mark Emmert in an open forum, as well as discuss a variety of topics regarding alcohol, drugs, sex, bystander intervention, student-athlete leadership, and mentoring programs. 

The message behind Marquette's "Back Out Before Blackout" campaign goes in conjunction with the tenants of APPLE, which stands for "athletic, prevention, programming, leadership, and education." 

"Leadership Lineage" featured Williams with both a story and a digital video piece produced by the NCAA.

"Athletics is such a great environment to teach fundamental skills, especially in the game of football," said Williams, a former Notre Dame and NFL offensive lineman. "I was able to translate those lessons to other parts of my life."

See the complete multimedia piece on NCAA.org.

But this visit had a different feeling than the first.

Prior to the Bulls' 104-88 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, Butler was greeted by the largest media contingent in the Chicago locker room.

Butler, a second-year player, scored 18 points in Wednesday's game against the Bucks. (Including this dunk HERE at NBA.com) He's averaged 15.1 points over his last eight games (through Jan. 30) and has been anointed a "Kobe-stopper" on Twitter.

He's even becoming a media pro - ably adjusting to the demands of many while trying to prepare for work.

Whether he was asked about the return to his alma mater's home floor, or about not being selected to the BBVA Rising Stars Classic at the NBA All-Star Game, Butler was accommodating - he spent an extra 10 minutes on media duties than was required of him.

Much of his focus came back to Marquette and being back in comfortable territory.

"When you look up there and see the Dwayne Wades and the other players that were here in the blue and gold, I think about when I used to run up and down this court when it didn't say 'Milwaukee Bucks' and instead it said 'Marquette Golden Eagles'," Butler said. "It feels good to be back in this building."

For more on Butler, see my GoMarquette.com video feature:

Williams, a former practicing attorney with Indianapolis-based firm Baker & Daniels and a 1992 graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law, spoke for an hour and answered questions from members of the audience.

Addressing topics ranging from his NFL playing career to his legal career, Williams also touched on the current landscape of collegiate athletics and the recent declaration by Marquette to depart the BIG EAST Conference.

"We're trying to use elite-level competition to grow young men and women," Williams said to the audience. "If we focus on that growth, collegiate athletics is a worthy pursuit. But the times we get uncomfortable is when we lose focus of that [growth] as the sole purpose of college athletics."

See On the Issues in its entirety: http://law-media.marquette.edu/Mediasite/Play/f8cf4705779b4f08a91227b4161591341d

Complete Release (PDF) 

The Golden Eagles are first among non-football playing institutions with 139.00 points.

Marquette earned 64 points from women's soccer advancing to the NCAA Regional Semifinals and 50 points from men's soccer making the NCAA Second Round. The women's volleyball program also racked up 25 points after making its second NCAA Championship appearance in as many years.

Men's and women's cross country in addition to women's field hockey, men's water polo and football are the other sports counted in the final standings.

The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports - 10 women's and 10 men's.