Personality Profiles: William Martin

Usually, the personalities that pepper this blog are Southern. And coaches, with the occasional out of control commissioner. I’ve got ideas for profiling a few quarterbacks who took a cue from Sleeping Beauty (without the beauty part, sadly).

Today’s tale includes someone who is none of those things. He is Michigan’s athletic director, William Martin. He’s kept a low profile in the nine years since taking the Wolverine’s reins (of course, I probably would too had I been responsible for hiring Rich Rodriguez). He’s a member of all sorts of boards and committees, including the U.S. Olympic committee. Michigan is one of the few programs to show a budget surplus in the past few seasons, which might owe something to what he learned while earning a graduate economics degree in Stockholm, Sweden. Perhaps seeking warmer weather, he also obtained an MBA from the University of Michigan. He’s worked in the private business sector, and in his spare time enjoys sailing and assaulting student workers.

Ok, the last one is an exaggeration. However, he doesn’t always use the best judgment when asked to show I.D. before entering VIP areas of Michigan Stadium. When one student asked for the proper pass, he condescended, “Honey, I’m the athletic director,” and pushed right past her. On another occasion, he grabbed the worker’s jacket and said, “I can go in, I’m the athletic director.”

Say what you will about the drama we stir up down south. At least we keep our hands to ourselves.

It does seem a bit incredulous these students would be unable to recognize the big cheese. After all, I can spot Mike Hamilton from sixty yards away (his uncanny resemblance to a Muppet does help, I’ll admit). Then again, I have no idea what my director of schools looks like. My administrators even showed us pictures so we could identify him lest he unexpectedly appear. I still couldn’t recognize him in a line up.

Regardless of the shoulda’s, Martin has apologized for the incidents. He has also stated, “Being the Michigan AD is not just a job, it’s a way of life…”

Oh, honey. That’s not just Michigan. That’s all of football.