James Friel, who has served as acting director of recreation since October, will take on the role on a permanent basis, Chief Wellness Officer Luis de Zengotita announced.
“James demonstrated exceptional leadership as acting director, guiding Campus Recreation through a critical period with skill, dedication and vision,” de Zengotita said. “His efforts were instrumental in the successful opening of the Wellness + Helfaer Recreation facility. I am also deeply grateful to the entire recreation team for their hard work and commitment throughout this transition.
“I look forward to James’ continued leadership as we further weave wellness into recreation as part of our university-wide strategy to promote student thriving, connection and transformation.”
Friel has been at Marquette since 2018, when he was hired as associate director for campus recreation. He previously served as the assistant director at the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater for 10 years, overseeing intramural and club sports.
In his role as associate director at Marquette, he led the student staff at the Rec Center and Rec Plex, supervising over 100 students annually. He implemented Fusion software, transforming how Campus Recreation manages its operations, and simplified all membership pricing and options for members.
Since being named acting director, Friel coordinated the moving plan out of temporary recreation spaces across campus and into the new Wellness + Helfaer Recreation facility, which opened on Jan. 13.
Visits across the facility and its units are up across the board:
- Over 7,000 students have utilized the Wellness + Helfaer Recreation facility as of April 30, accounting for 78% of undergraduate students and 62% of the entire student population
- The facility has recorded over 180,000 visits, representing 72% of what Marquette’s recreation facilities reported in all of 2024
- 7,400 have participated in over 800 aerobic classes, over four times the number of participants as last spring
Friel says he is excited to continue developing programs and spaces that engage students in recreation while deepening their understanding of physical wellness as a foundation for overall well-being. He is committed to fostering inclusive environments where all students can build healthy habits, strong relationships and essential life skills through movement, competition and play.
“I would like to thank Luis de Zengotita for trusting me to lead campus recreation,” Friel said. “It is a very exciting time for our department as we align our strategies and priorities with the wellness model that Luis has set forth. I look forward to working with our team to implement innovative wellness programming. Together we will make a good program great.”
