Marquette University club rowing · Milwaukee, WI
Row for Marquette
No experience necessary.
Competitive club team.
Build life skills of persistence, determination, teamwork, and resilience.
All while enjoying the sunrise.
Who we are
Marquette’s fastest growing club on campus
Marquette Crew is the student club rowing team at Marquette University, founded by two women athletes, Liz Shanahan and Beth Ohmann. Today, we field men’s and women’s squads, each with novice and varsity crews. We compete in shells of fours and eights both regionally and nationally.
Students join our team both with or without prior rowing experience. After one year of commitment as a novice, our athletes have the opportunity to automatically advance to varsity level.
1990
Founded by two student athletes
1,200+
Rowers through the program in 36 years
Fastest-growing
club sport on Marquette’s campus
Everyone starts somewhere
No tryouts. No cuts. No experience required.
We do not actively recruit high-school rowers and do not hold tryouts. If you are an enrolled Marquette student and are looking for a welcoming team atmosphere while honing your skills for competition, then we are the team for you.
Novices learn the basics of the sport within their first year. Afterward, they have the opportunity to automatically advance up to varsity level. The key is a willingness to learn!
Welcome events · Fall 2026
Get started this fall
Interested in getting in a boat? Attend any of our upcoming welcome events — no sign-up required for O’Fest, test the waters at our Learn-to-Row sessions, and experience race prep before our first novice competition.
Aug 28th
Rock the Rec
As part of freshmen orientation, varsity members will have a table at the Helfaer Recreation & Wellness Center. Stop by to chat with future teammates and learn more about our learn-to-row sessions and the season!
Sept 5th & 12th
Learn-to-Row Sessions at Boathouse
New recruits are brought to our boathouse to learn the essentials of rowing in shells alongside varsity teammates.
Sept 10th
O’Fest
Find our table in the Central Mall at Marquette’s fall club festival. Meet the team and sign up to get more information for Learn-to-Row sessions. No formal commitment necessary!
Sept 13th & 20th
Learn-to-Row Sessions in Erg Room
Held in our practice space in the basement of Humphrey Hall, we teach new recruits the basics of the stroke on erg machines.
Sept 13th
Team Meeting
Join fellow new recruits in the Alumni Memorial Union for an information session held by our team president! Learn about practices, schedules, and life on the team.
Oct 3rd
Milwaukee River Challenge
An annual regatta on our home rivers. As the varsity race, the novices join to see what race prep and regattas look like.
Nov 13th
Novice Scrimmage
We work together with the novice teams of other Midwestern collegiate rowing programs to hold the novice’s first race on the Menomonee River.
down by the water
two rivers, one lake
Our home base is our boathouse on the Menomonee River. Most mornings, we begin there and either head downtown via the Milwaukee River, or turn towards Lake Michigan to watch the sun rise.
In winter the whole team moves indoors to the erg room in Humphrey Hall. We build up to our Spring season one piece at a time.
Life on the team
Bonding beyond the boat
Many lifelong friendships have started with first being on Crew. We have frequent team meals post-practice, annual formals, scavenger hunts, and even Thanksgiving dinner. Home is where the team is!
On and off the water
@marquettecrew →
Ready to row?
Your seat in the boat is open.
No tryouts, no cuts, no experience required. We look forward to meeting you!
Fill out the interest form