From this morning's J/S:
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=760174Strong wields influence behind scenes at Marquette
By DON WALKER
dwalker@journalsentinel.com
Posted: June 9, 2008
You can find him at most Marquette University men's basketball games, home or away.
Dick Strong has plenty of influence in Marquette's men's basketball program.
At the Bradley Center, he sits directly across from the Marquette bench.
To most fans, he's just a fan who probably paid a lot of money to secure a choice seat to watch the Golden Eagles play basketball in the Big East Conference.
He's not just any fan or supporter, however.
Ask anyone knowledgeable about the Marquette athletic program who is the biggest supporter of the Golden Eagles and the answer is always the same:
Dick Strong.
Four years after Strong's multi-billion-dollar mutual fund company unraveled after he and the firm he founded were targeted in an improper trading investigation, Strong now finds solace supporting Marquette men's basketball.
It is an unusual relationship. At many schools across the country, prominent benefactors are often publicly recognized for their money and support. At the University of Wisconsin, a public university, benefactors are routinely named and honored for their support.
But that's not the Dick Strong way. Or for that matter, Marquette's.
It is a testament to Strong's influence on the program that few people, either inside or outside the school, will even talk about Strong.
With the sole exception of Father Robert Wild, the president of the university, no athletic department official would agree to speak to the Journal Sentinel about Strong and his relationship with the program.
Steve Cottingham, the school's new athletic director, wouldn't talk about Strong either on or off the record. Greg Kliebhan, the school's vice president, turned down two requests to be interviewed.
Tom Crean left Marquette abruptly to become the head coach at Indiana University but nonetheless enjoyed a long, friendly relationship with Strong. Crean "politely declined" an interview request.
Crean's predecessor, Mike Deane, also declined a request.
The same is true for the school's new basketball coach, Buzz Williams. Williams, who was extensively interviewed by Strong, declined to speak about Strong.
Strong himself did not respond to repeated attempts to interview him.
For Strong, staying under the radar is nothing new. He was that way when he ran Strong Funds, an independent money-managing company he took years to build.
But after then New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer accused Strong of timing certain financial transactions to benefit certain clients, Strong settled for $175 million. Strong eventually sold his company - with nearly $34 billion in assets - to Wells Fargo.
Strong soon turned his attention to forming Baraboo Growth LLC, an investment firm with an office near I-94 and N. 84th St.
While Strong prefers to stay way out of the spotlight, sources say he plays an influential role in the program. It begins with financial support, but it recently included Strong's effort to help Marquette find a replacement for Crean.
As with everyone else connected with the Marquette program, Strong was blind-sided by Crean's decision to leave Marquette abruptly and go to Indiana University.
As Marquette scrambled to find a new coach, the search group settled on Williams, who had been an assistant to Crean.
It is the measure of Strong's influence with the program that Strong was the only booster who had a private interview with Williams only days before Williams' hiring was announced.
Wild said that was his recollection as well.
"I was in Washington and I was working on a search for a new provost, so it's very difficult to answer that question," Wild said. "I believe the answer is yes, but I don't have all of the details."
Wild said it was no secret that Strong was "very interested in the program. He cares a great deal about it. He became very good friends with Tom Crean, and Dick is somebody worth listening to, I think. There's obviously a number of people that we naturally feel can help us."
Wild said Strong had been helpful to the university in a number of ways. "I try to talk with people like that who can help us think better and more creatively about the program. They really care," Wild said.
One source who has worked with Strong and knows him well said Strong would do anything for Marquette.
"This will sound saccharine, but he's a Milwaukee guy," the source said. "How big is he? This would explain why Marquette is not Loyola or DePaul."
Another Strong friend said Strong was, by far, the major booster to the Al McGuire Center, the $31 million facility that provided a huge boost to the entire athletic program. Wild declined to confirm that, but said Strong "certainly would have pitched in."
"He does not like to be in the headlights," said a third source who knows Strong. "I don't think he has many friends. But he has been a huge supporter of the team, and he was the major donor for the Al McGuire Center."
George Reis, a Two Rivers money manager who knows Strong, used an old sales analogy to describe Strong's level of commitment. In a bacon-and-egg breakfast, the chicken is involved, but the pig is committed. Strong, Reis said, is committed.
"He does prefer to be in the background. But whatever Dick does, he does it to excess," Reis said.
During Crean's nine years with Marquette, Strong enjoyed access to the program that few Marquette fans have. Strong also arranged to bring in well-known and successful people to speak to the players, including Hall of Famer Bill Russell and military heroes whom Strong admired.
With a new basketball era about to start at Marquette with Williams, there is little doubt Strong will play a strong behind-the-scenes role.
At the press conference announcing Williams' new job, Cottingham thanked many people for helping him in the process, including Wild, university backer John Bergstrom and other prominent Marquette officials.
Strong was never mentioned. But for those close to the Marquette program, Cottingham didn't have to.
They already knew.
