Former Montana LB Marcus Welnel takes assistant AD role with Grizzly athletics

MISSOULA — Marcus Welnel, a former Grizzly football player with experience as a financial advisor and as general manager of the Good Ol’ Grizzlies NIL Collective, has been named Assistant Athletic Director – Chief Revenue Officer for Montana Grizzly athletics. 
 
Welnel will be working to maximize revenue and efficiency within Grizzly athletics while also working closely with Montana’s head coaches to assist with NIL endeavors. 
 
“Marcus will be a great addition to Grizzly athletics. His experience as a student-athlete, financial planner, and in the world of NIL, will be a great benefit as we move into this new era of college athletics,” director of athletics Kent Haslam said. 
 
“Marcus will be charged with maximizing our revenue streams, finding opportunities to utilize our facilities, and working with the coaches to build strategies around revenue sharing,” Haslam continued. “This is a new position, and I know he will make it his own and push all of us to get better.”
 
Welnel is no stranger to Grizzly athletics. Originally from Helena, Welnel came to Missoula as a linebacker on the football team. He played four full seasons with Montana, recording 240 total tackles and earning the honor of wearing the No. 37 jersey as a senior. 
 
While playing for the Grizzlies, Welnel also found plenty of success in the classroom. He graduated from UM with two master’s degrees (business administration and business analytics) to go along with a finance degree and minors in math and economics. 
 
Since graduating, Welnel has served as a financial advisor for SG Long, advised with his family’s businesses, and for the last three years has been the GM of the Good Ol’ Grizzlies NIL Collective.
 
“This is a position that I’ve thought about for a little bit of time and I think it presents itself well for me to step in and succeed and help Grizzly Athletics as much as possible,” Welnel said. “I’m super excited. I was an athlete there and grew up absolutely loving the Griz and everything about UM so it’s fun to continue to help the success of not only Griz football, but with all of Grizzly Athletics.”
 
Welnel’s role will help with everything from concerts and events hosted by UM to meetings with coaches and players about NIL funding and how to best spend budgets. It’s a role similar to that of a manager of a sports team, and one that has become more popular around the country as schools begin revenue sharing with student-athletes. 
 
“I think (this position) is very vital with the changing landscape of college athletics,” Welnel said. “I think more athletic departments are turning to more of a business model where there are a lot of things with paying athletes out that athletic departments never had to consider. It's just all very new and I think it’s very vital for an athletic department that wants to succeed to have a position like this.”