It started as a way to play basketball with friends in college, now it has turned into a full-time job.
Following a three-year stint as a team manager, Mikey Garven was hired as a program assistant for the Marquette women’s basketball team his past summer.
“I was like, ‘Oh, sure, like, why not?’” Garven said. “From there, I just started doing things as much as I could. Things kept falling in place for me, and I just took advantage of the opportunities.”
Garven has served many roles as a part of the Marquette women’s basketball program, dating back to when Carolyn Kieger led the Golden Eagles.
“He’s the epitome of, ‘You do the right thing, you work hard you treat people the right way,’” head coach Megan Duffy said. “There’s a reason why he’s still on staff with us and he’s getting exposed to a lot of things on the coaching side and the operational side. He bleeds blue and gold.”
Duffy said Garven’s attitude is necessary for what it takes to be a program assistant.
“In this business, you have to work a ton of hours, you don’t get paid a lot of money. And he’s like, ‘Coach, what do you need me to do next?’” Duffy said. “He’s a great person to have in our program.”
Garven said he stuck with the program throughout his time at Marquette because of how Duffy and the team cared for him.
This season, Garven has a different role on the team. As program assistant, he is still involved with the players but now he works more closely with the coaching staff.
During his time as head student manager, Garven held responsibilities similar to that of Veronica Mullen, the assistant athletics director of women’s basketball. He was in charge of preparing student managers’ schedules for practices and ensuring COVID-19 protocols were followed by student managers.
As a practice player, Garven acted as the scout person for a specific assigned player from the opposing team Marquette would play.
“He was always that one person that really pushed you, really made you work hard, and I think everyone can say that,” senior guard Claire Kaifes said. “He really grew our skills as a player.”
Senior forward Chloe Marotta said Garven knew how to play scout and didn’t let up on defense as a practice player.
“He’s always gonna read the scout. He knows how our program works, but he’s super competitive as well. He doesn’t let us score, he gets in our bodies a little bit on defense,” Marotta said. “I’ve gotten better at my one-on-one defense because he is so quick.”
In Garven’s new role, he’s working closely with the coaches and staff on a variety of things.
“I’ve helped Veronica with different travel things and gear responsibilities,” Garven said. “Pretty much a little bit of every different part of the organization, which I think is really cool.”
Garven graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Marquette in 2022 and is currently enrolled in the graduate program to achieve a master’s degree in communications.
He has gotten the chance to sit in on marketing meetings with the program, something he said has been “really insightful.”
“I think of him as the assistant director of operations,” Mullen said. “Right now, he’s assisting with film. But on the road, he knows the ins and outs, especially being a manager with us for four years. He’s been so vital to our program, hence why we elevated him.”
Garven also oversees the practice player program where during practices, he sits on the sideline at a computer taking notes, compiling statistics and watching practice players.
Kaifes said Garven has been a big help this year and is willing to assist the team with whatever is needed.
“Just doing whatever the team needs is his mindset this year. If it’s watching film, clipping the film, anything like that,” Kaifes said. “He’s always asking what more he can do.”
Mullen said Garven’s work ethic opened the door for the role he currently occupies.
“Through his time, just making sure he was a sponge, he always wanted to learn. He always stayed around after practice, asked lots of great questions,” Mullen said. “We just saw him evolve and we saw how much he could benefit our program. That’s why we hired him full-time.”
Garven said he hopes to use his experience as a program assistant to springboard his coaching career. He said he hopes to be at a program like Marquette or somewhere even bigger.
“Being director of basketball operations would be really cool, I look up to (Mullen) greatly so it’s cool being a little mentee for her,” Garven said.
This article was written by Jack Albright. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JackAlbrightMU.
