MACOMB, Ill. - Sean McDonough has been hired as Western Illinois University Assistant Athletics Director in charge of external relations and the Leatherneck Club. The announcement was made Thursday (July 22) by Director of Athletics Dr. Tim Van Alstine.

McDonough, replacing long-time Leatherneck Athletics Administrator Dwaine Roche who retired June 30th, will begin his duties next month.

For the past four years McDonough has worked at The Steier Group in Omaha, Nebraska, as a Senior Campaign Manager. During his time as a consultant on four major capital campaigns, he raised more than $60 million dollars. McDonough is responsible for: creating and executing development strategies, donor cultivation, marketing strategies, leadership and volunteer management, and tailoring a development plan for each client.

He founded the academy1 Basketball School in Omaha and served as executive director for two years. McDonough managed a staff of 50 members for camps and clinics while using an interactive website, e-mail marketing campaign and strategic direct mail campaign to turn a profit within the organization's first year. For two years prior he worked as an Account Representative for Impact Sports in Madison, Wisconsin.

McDonough started his career working in collegiate athletics spending 12 years as a basketball coach, including three seasons as head coach at Carroll University (formerly Carroll College), and two years as a member of the Marquette University Basketball team. After several years outside of the university setting, McDonough had the desire to return.

"I've wanted to get back into collegiate athletics while continuing in a fund raising capacity. During my years in the Midwest I've come to know and respect what Western Illinois University represents and the work that (Director of Athletics) Dr. Van Alstine has done," said McDonough. "Dwaine Roche spent many great years representing the Leathernecks in the community, and worked hard raising funds to benefit our student-athletes.

"My goal is to continue building the Leatherneck Club and I want our organization to reach 1,000 members. I will aggressively reach out to connect with all former student-athletes while introducing myself to the Macomb community," stated McDonough. "I'm excited about the future of Leatherneck Athletics and the challenges that lie ahead in the University Capital Campaign."

Dr. Van Alstine thinks McDonough brings the right mix of fund raising and experience in college athletics.

"Sean brings to Western a NCAA Division I background as both a student-athlete and coach. He has a proven record of success in the development arena and his fund-raising skill set is well suited to our needs," said Van Alstine. "The search process took a bit longer than anticipated but in the end, Sean proved to be the right fit for us.  He and his family are "fired-up" to transition to Macomb and the Leatherneck Family."