Tony Draves will remain as the director of athletics for the Marian University athletic department on a permanent basis.

Draves has served as the head of the Sabre athletic department in an interim basis since February. He will continue to assume the day-to-day operations of the athletic department which consists of 26 intercollegiate sports. Draves has been a member of the Marian University athletic department since 2003.

“I would like to thank Dr. Majewski and Jason Bartelt for allowing me to continue on as the director of athletics and head softball coach,” said Draves. “Continuing in both roles allows me to continue to coach my players that mean so much to me, but also work with a larger segment of our coaches and student-athletes. I look forward to continuing on the great work that has already been done in the department.”

Draves is the winningest coach in Marian softball history and has served his role as the head coach of the program since 2015. The Sabres have had a winning season in all but his first season at the helm including a 27-win season in 2017 that remains the second-winningest season in the NACC era. Draves also led the Sabres to their first NACC Championship in 2018 after Marian went 17-5 in NACC play. He would go on to earn his first NACC Coach of the Year award as a result. Marian has had four All-Region selections including the program’s first All-American in Ally Fox in 2019.

Prior to being named the head coach, Draves also served as the assistant for the program for 12 years. In his first season on staff, Marian won the 2003 Lake Michigan Conference title and qualified for the NCAA tournament. The following season, the Sabres won the 2004 regular-season crown with a 10-2 league record.

He also previously served on the coaching staff of the Marian men’s basketball program for 14 seasons including the 2013-14 campaign that saw Marian claim their first NACC Championship and earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Draves is an alumnus of UW-Oshkosh where earned his bachelor’s (1995) and master’s (2000) degrees in mathematics education.