To say that Creighton’s new athletic director Marcus Blossom had big shoes to fill would be an understatement; it’s more accurate to describe the void left by Bruce Rasmussen as that of a giant.
Yet even with this departure, Creighton athletics has only kept improving, due in large part to Blossom, who has mixed both strategies from his predecessor as well as his own in his first five months on the job.
“I never really thought about filling those shoes,” Blossom said. “I just want to do the best job I can do for Creighton, its coaches and its student athletes.”
Perhaps the most evident strategy that Blossom has deployed is his focus on student athletes, which he describes as his very motivation for the job.
“They are why I got into it,” Blossom said. “I was a former student athlete and I had a great experience with that, so to have the opportunity to give that back to others is quite honestly what gets me out of bed in the morning.”
It is this focus on the student athletes that has earned Blossom high praise from those around Creighton athletics, including Student-Athlete Advisory Committee president and women’s basketball senior guard Rachel Saunders.
“He wants us as student athletes to have the best experience we can have, whether it be academically or athletically or even as people,” Saunders said.
This can be seen on both major and minor levels, with Blossom integrating certain aspects of the department while still finding ways to greet everyone and support all sports.
“He has been very helpful with SAAC and getting some things done we really wanted,” Saunders said. “But I also see him at all of our games, and he knows our names and always says hi.”
Some of this person-centered approach could be attributed to Blossom’s Jesuit background, working at both Holy Cross and Boston College.
But unlike these schools, Creighton is in a smaller market, something that Blossom argues helps create these relationships in such a short period of time.
“As opposed to my previous schools, Creighton is the only one not in a major market, meaning it is a smaller community which helps with getting to know people and create deeper relationships,” Blossom said.
These deep relationships are just one of the many reasons why both the present and future of Creighton athletics looks so bright.
But for Blossom, it is not just about Creighton athletics. Instead, it is about the school and the community as a whole.
“I want to go further in basketball, win the Big East, and I want to aim towards comprehensive excellence in all sports, which furthers the experience for all student athletes,” Blossom said.
“Then, with that publicity, we can help elevate Creighton University as a whole, attracting the best students and not just student athletes, as well as Omaha too, which is quite the hidden gem.”
Regardless of whether or not the shadow of the Creighton legend Bruce Rasmussen still hangs over him, Blossom will continue to forge his own path, attending all Creighton sporting events, greeting student athletes on the mall, and creating meaningful relationships that will take Creighton athletics and the university to the next level.