JACKSON, Mich. – The Crossroads League announced on Wednesday that Marian's Steve Downing has been named the Crossroads League Athletic Director of the Year for the second-straight year.
 
"I am extremely honored and humbled to be named the Crossroads League Athletic Director of the Year for a second-consecutive year," said Downing. "Given the makeup of the Crossroads League and how competitive each institution is, this is not only a tremendous recognition for myself, but for Marian University as well. We had another extremely successful year at Marian, earning another top-five finish in the NAIA Learfield Directors' Cup, as well as placing runner-up in the Crossroads League All-Sports Standings. I would like to thank all of my tremendous staff at Marian, from our administrators to our coaches, who have helped take our University's athletics to another level once again."

Under Downing's watch, Marian finished fourth nationally in the NAIA Learfield Director's Cup and second in the Crossroads League All-Sports Standings with nine teams winning CL Championships and 14 teams competing at a NAIA National Championship event during the 2023-2024 year. Marian's men's cross country team also sent one runner to the NAIA National Championships this past year, bringing the team total to 15. 

The MU men's track program led the way, finishing second at Outdoor Nationals and third at Indoor Nationals. Staying on the track, the Knights also posted a pair of top-10 showings from their women's indoor and outdoor track teams.

Additional highlights included Marian's men's and women's golf teams posting their best seasons in school history, while MU hosted NAIA National Championship events in the sports of football, women's soccer, women's basketball and softball. Marian's cycling team also continued their elite run, winning the track and BMX national championships, while finishing as the USA Collegiate Cycling omnium runner-up.

Along with all the competitive success, Marian did strong work in the classroom as well with 23-of-24 teams earning NAIA Scholar-Team honors with collective grade-point averages of 3.0 and above.
 
The Crossroads League Athletic Director-of-the-Year honor is voted on by the 10 Athletic Directors from the Crossroads League and announced each summer.