Brad West remembers the exact afternoon he fell in love with soccer, a romance that has lasted almost two decades. On Easter Sunday in 2008, West was visiting a friend in Cologne, Germany, who offered to take him to a local soccer match. West, whose sports tastes were more Michael Jordan than David Beckham, accepted. His life changed forever.
“There was just something different about that European soccer vibe,” says West, remembering the packed train cars, ubiquitous fan scarves and raucous chanting. “It almost felt like going to church in a way. I kind of brought it home with me.”
West, Comm ’01, shared that passion with his fellow soccer fans in ways he never could have imagined when the U.S. hosted the FIFA World Cup in summer 2026. Now a corporate partnerships director for the popular “Men in Blazers” media network, West worked from dawn until well past dusk to spread the beautiful game to the masses across America through live shows, sponsor activations and countless hours of multimedia content.
“It was really exhilarating because you had all these people pulling in the same direction after months and months of preparation to make something great,” West recalls.
Other Marquette communicators have wholly embraced careers in soccer too. Lisa Carlin, Comm ’18, a former Marquette women’s soccer player, is one of the foremost women’s soccer reporters in the country for CBS Sports. Paul Gomez, Arts ’03, who frequently mentors comm students, worked closely with international soccer dignitaries in his role with Coca-Cola, the tournament’s official beverage sponsor.
Plenty of students have also taken an interest in the sport. Sophomore Logan Lawrence ran social media, managed sponsor activation, wrote match and player signing reports, and did graphic design (among other responsibilities) for Shrewsbury Town F.C., a fourth-division English football club, during a summer internship. This came after Lawrence reached out to nearly every professional soccer club in England.
“I met so many awesome people in Shrewsbury. I built some genuine relationships and learned so much in my time there.” Lawrence says. “I learned the importance of making sincere connections. I also learned the importance of saying ‘yes’ — just stepping up and taking on all tasks, big and small.”
Meanwhile, Sofie Hanrahan, a senior, spent her summer in Manchester, enrolled in venerable English club Manchester City’s summer business academy.
“I always thought it was impossible to work for a club like Man City,” Hanrahan says. “But just seeing how many positions there were gave me a lot of confidence that maybe I had a place there.”
While there might seem like a gulf between the alumni in senior positions and the students just starting out, there is one program that connects them: the Selig-Jaffee Marquette Mentors, which pairs alumni mentors with students who have similar career aspirations for yearlong partnerships. Gomez and West are both part of the mentor program, helping to foster the next generation of Marquette soccer professionals.
Gomez took the mentorship one step further when Reyes Coca-Cola, the bottling company that he works for, asked him to lead the company’s west coast efforts for the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour.
“The FIFA World Cup Trophy is one of the world’s most exclusive icons,” Gomez says. “It rarely leaves Zurich, Switzerland, and unless you’re a head of state or a World Cup champion, it’s strictly look, don’t touch. Watching kids, families, soccer fans,and community leaders get up close to one of the most coveted prizes in sports was nothing short of magical,”
A select few could be in its presence, though, and two of them were Gomez and his mentee, Jack Taphorn, who flew out to San Francisco using funds provided by Marquette Mentors. On that trip, Gomez brought the cup to San Francisco City Hall, which hosted eight American Youth Soccer Organization clubs and members of the community to meet former Brazilian midfielder Gilberto Silva.
“A lot of people think about the fame and glory of being a player, but there are also people who support the sport from behind the scenes, and they are just as important in making things happen,” Gomez says.
Lawrence became familiar with the essential nature of behind-the-scenes personnel soon after he landed in Shrewsbury. The local club doesn’t have nearly the budget of a Premier League team like Manchester City, so Lawrence immediately had responsibilities far beyond what one might expect from an intern. When the club signed new players, Lawrence was responsible for conducting interviews, creating graphics and publishing content about it. When the club wanted to put up murals in their stadium to commemorate the club’s 140th anniversary, Lawrence selected the photos and worked with the printing company to bring it to life.
Before he left, Lawrence made an audacious request of Liam Dooley, the club’s CEO: could he try his hand at designing one of the team’s uniforms for next season? The CEO agreed, and soon Lawrence was meeting with the Super Blues, the club’s most ardent supporters, to discuss his concepts.
“I didn’t want to put out a kit that had no meaning behind it,” Lawrence says. “Shrewsbury is one of those small, connected towns with a proud history. The football club means so much to everyone there, and the kit their team wears is important. I did everything I could to make sure my design sparked something and would make the players and supporters proud.”
Eighty miles north in Manchester, Hanrahan came to the same conclusion that Lawrence had: this wouldn’t be her last time in England.
“I’d work for any club there; it doesn’t matter what level,” Hanrahan says. “I’d love to be on the journalism side, but hearing from the director of Manchester’s youth academy and marketing people and operations directors made me realize how many different opportunities there are.”
The Marquette Class of 2027, to which Hanrahan belongs, were newborns when West’s boss, popular soccer personality Roger Bennett, first came to America. His failure to find a single bar showing the 2006 World Cup instilled a mission: turn the U.S.A into a soccer country. West became a fellow convert to the cause on that Easter Sunday in Germany.
Two decades and an explosion of enthusiasm later, West sees the fruits of his labor, both at the 2026 World Cup and in the students who will follow in his footsteps.
“I’m super proud to be a part of the mentor program and a part of Marquette. This institution has always meant so much to me,” West says.
