Recently retired Sports Illustrated writer and Marquette alumnus Steve Rushin will give this year's commencement address, the university announced Monday.

Rushin will speak to the class of 2007 on May 20 at the Bradley Center.

"We are honored to have Steve Rushin, an alumnus and nationally renowned sports writer, address our graduates and their families," said University President the Rev. Robert A. Wild in the press release about the commencement. "His prolific and highly successful career, at a relatively young age, will inspire our graduates as they embark upon their own post-graduation journeys."

Paul Salsini, a journalism lecturer in the College of Communication, remembers having Rushin in his public affairs reporting class.

"I think he was bored to death because it was a reporting class, not a writing class," Salsini said, noting the quality of Rushin's work was above par because he had already published a book before he enrolled in Salsini's class.

In 1987, Rushin's book "From A-Train to Yogi: The Fan's Book of Sports Nicknames" was published – a year before he graduated from Marquette. Before then, Rushin was a staff member of the Marquette Tribune. In 1988 he was hired at Sports Illustrated, and three years later became the publication's youngest senior writer.

Salsini said he has followed Rushin's career and enjoyed his columns, which included Marquette material after the Gold decision in 2005 and when the men's basketball team went to the NCAA Final Four tournament in 2003.

Phone calls to Rushin were not returned at press time.