The 2026-27 season will mark the first for Rob Wennington at Marquette University, where he serves as Assistant Vice President for Athletics Advancement and Associate Athletic Director. Wennington’s primary duties include leading the athletics development team, working with Vice President & Director of Athletics Mike Broeker and the athletics staff to develop engagement and fundraising strategies and serving as an ambassador for athletics across campus to support the success of Marquette’s student-athletes, coaches, and staff.
A product of Jesuit education and Midwestern roots, Wennington arrives at Marquette after spending the past two years at Boston College, his alma mater, where he served as Associate Director for Athletics Major Giving. At Boston College, Wennington led the university advancement staff in donor meetings conducted and was a key contributor in raising more than $50 million for athletics in consecutive years amidst the university’s $3 billion campaign. Wennington cultivated relationships with alumni, parents, and supporters to secure philanthropic support, facilitated athletics stewardship and alumni relations events, and co-created the Eagles Leadership Circle to expand and strengthen the athletics donor base.
Prior to working at Boston College, Wennington served as athletic director at Bishop Moore Catholic High School in Orlando, Florida. In that role, he was responsible for hiring more than 50 coaches and administrators, managing a $1 million athletics budget, creating a student life department, and facilitating several capital projects for athletics, including new locker rooms, a student-athlete learning resource center, an auxiliary weight room, softball dugouts and commons, and a new stadium track. Under his three-year leadership, the Hornets earned Florida Athletic Coaches Association 5A Athletic Program of the Year honors, were named 5A Academic Team Champions, won three consecutive state championships in women's soccer (ranked No. 6 nationally), and captured three consecutive national championships in competitive dance.
Prior to his time at Bishop Moore Catholic, Wennington served as athletic director at schools including St. Francis Xavier School, Guerin Prep High School, and Catholic Memorial School. He also coached high school basketball and football while teaching English. During Wennington’s undergraduate years at Boston College, he was a member of the football team and a WZBC sports radio host. He later earned a master’s degree in sports administration from Northwestern University, where he served as a graduate assistant for the Wildcats men’s basketball team.
The son of three-time Chicago Bulls NBA champion Bill Wennington, sports have always been part of his DNA. Wennington and his wife, Erin, have made the Milwaukee area their home, and outside of work, he remains a passionate Green Bay Packers fan.
Patrick Fay serves as the Senior Director of Development and Assistant Athletics Director at Marquette University, where he partners with major supporters of Marquette Athletics and leads fundraising efforts for all Olympic sport programs. Promoted to his current role in August 2026, Patrick previously served as Director of Development, cultivating relationships that generated significant philanthropic support for Men's Basketball, flagship women's programs including Volleyball and Women's Basketball, and Olympic sports such as Men's Lacrosse and Track & Field/Cross Country.
Patrick is passionate about the transformative power of athletics in developing young people and believes Marquette is uniquely positioned to deliver that impact through its Jesuit mission and strong institutional leadership. A native of State College, Pennsylvania, and a graduate of Penn State University, he witnessed firsthand how a thriving athletics culture can positively influence student-athletes, strengthen a university, and unite a broader community.
Patrick joined the Marquette community in January 2023 as Director of Leadership Annual Giving, where he led a team of fundraising professionals focused on connecting donors' philanthropic interests with university priorities. In that role, he helped strengthen support for key annual giving initiatives, including the Marquette Fund and Scholars Fund, while working closely with alumni, parents, and community members throughout the Chicagoland and Mid-Atlantic regions.
Prior to Marquette, Patrick held leadership positions in enrollment management and advancement at institutions in Colorado and Wisconsin. These experiences provided him with a broad perspective on higher education and a deep appreciation for the critical role athletics plays as a driver of enrollment, engagement, and philanthropy.
Patrick and his wife, Megan, reside in Menomonee Falls with their two young children. As a family, they enjoy cheering on the Golden Eagles at Fiserv Forum, the Al McGuire Center, and Valley Fields. Away from campus, they enjoy spending time outdoors hiking, skiing, biking, visiting the beach, and playing as many sports as possible.
Christine Lebiecki joined Marquette University in 2017 and serves as Associate Director of Development for Athletics, where she builds meaningful relationships and generates philanthropic support to elevate the student-athlete experience. After beginning her Marquette career as a generalist fundraiser, she joined the Athletic Advancement team in 2021 and today leads fundraising efforts for women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, women’s lacrosse, and women’s soccer, while also contributing to the continued philanthropic growth of Marquette Athletics and its flagship men’s basketball program.
For Lebiecki, a career in athletics is deeply personal. A lifelong competitor, she spent 13 years in gymnastics, played club soccer, and ultimately found her way to cross country and track, competing at the Division I level for a portion of her collegiate career. Some of her most formative experiences came under the guidance of her high school cross country and track coaches, whose mentorship and annual team training trips to Colorado showed her firsthand the lasting impact coaches and athletics can have during pivotal years in a young person’s life. While her own collegiate athletics journey ultimately led her to step away from competition, the experience shaped her perspective and strengthened her commitment to helping create meaningful experiences for today’s student-athletes.
That connection came full circle at Marquette. From 2018-20, Lebiecki volunteered as an assistant coach with the cross country and track and field programs while working full-time in University Advancement. Working directly with Marquette student-athletes—from celebrating personal records to helping athletes overcome mental barriers—reignited her appreciation for sport and reinforced the transformational role athletics can play in a student’s life.
Today, relationships serve as the foundation of Lebiecki’s fundraising philosophy. She has helped build philanthropic momentum across Marquette women’s athletics, including doubling the number of multi-year philanthropic commitments to the women’s basketball program during her tenure leading its development efforts. With women’s volleyball, she has focused on strengthening the program’s philanthropic foundation through new donor identification and deeper alumni engagement, building a sustainable pipeline of support for the program and its student-athletes.
Her work with Marquette women’s soccer has been another source of pride. In addition to growing relationships and annual philanthropic support for the program, Lebiecki helped lead the fundraising effort that made the program’s first international trip to Italy possible, bringing donors and supporters together to provide a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Marquette student-athletes. She has also expanded her work with women’s lacrosse, partnering with program leadership to identify philanthropic priorities and build relationships that can enhance the student-athlete experience for years to come.
Across each program she supports, Lebiecki believes the most meaningful results begin with trust. Whether working alongside student-athletes, coaches and colleagues or engaging alumni, families, and donors, she approaches development as an opportunity to build authentic relationships and connect people with opportunities to make a meaningful impact on Marquette Athletics.
Outside of Marquette, Lebiecki still embraces her competitive side through high-intensity workouts and enjoys traveling, thrifting, a good happy hour and, most importantly, spending time with her family.
Emily Foley enters her fourth year as Assistant Director, Athletics Engagement with the Athletics Development Team at Marquette University in 2026–27. Foley serves as the primary fundraiser for Marquette's cheer and dance teams and oversees annual giving, stewardship, engagement, and donor marketing and communications for women's basketball, women's volleyball, and all Olympic sports.
For three consecutive years, Foley has led the athletics department's efforts for Give Marquette Day, the university's largest day of giving. She creates the marketing and communication materials, secures donor matches and challenges, and coordinates marketing activations across campus and at athletics events. Under her leadership, athletics has grown both dollars raised and donor engagement every year, with especially strong growth in participation among former student-athletes.
A proud Marquette alumna, Foley's work is rooted in her own experience as a Golden Eagle. She competed for five years on Marquette's Cross Country and Track & Field teams (2017–2022), and it was the impact of those years, on and off the course, that drew her to a career in college athletics. Today, she is passionate about student-athlete development and about building lasting relationships with donors, current student-athletes, and former student-athletes. Hearing their stories is what fuels her care for her work and her commitment to contributing to the growth and evolution of Marquette Athletics. Above all, Foley is driven by the chance to help secure transformational gifts that give today's student-athletes an unforgettable Marquette experience. She takes particular pride in capturing student-athletes' stories and sharing them, connecting generations of Golden Eagles and telling the story of Marquette Athletics in a meaningful way.
Foley earned her B.A. in Social Welfare and Justice from Marquette in 2021 and her M.A. in Educational Policy and Leadership, with a focus in Student Affairs, in 2023. During her graduate studies, she served as a Graduate Assistant for Student Wellness and Health Promotion (2021–2023), a Practicum Student with the Blue & Gold Fund (2022–2023), and an International Practicum Student at University College Dublin (2022).
Outside of Marquette, Foley is in her fourth-year coaching at University School of Milwaukee, where she is the head cross country coach, now in her second season, and an assistant track and field coach, entering her fourth season. She is also active in the Milwaukee community and is in her third year serving on the auxiliary board at Notre Dame School of Milwaukee.
Originally from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and a Lourdes Academy alumna, Foley currently resides in Mequon, Wisconsin.