Marquette doesn’t hide the fact its colors are blue & gold.
Signs around campus; university-branded clothes, accessories and goodies; the school’s logo and seal; and, of course, its athletics teams are all various shades of the two colors.
But this past weekend, in the Marquette sports world, only the players during games donned the university’s trademark hues. Everyone else in athletics — from the marketing team to the communications department to the volunteers to the coaches and athletes during warm-ups — were all wearing black and white.
The MU logo remains visible, but above it is, from left to right, the No. 43, then a lacrosse stick, then the No. 88. The branding, in honor of men’s lacrosse players Noah Snyder and Scott Michaud, both of whom were killed on Sept. 5 by a 41-year-old woman driving while intoxicated.
Six days after the crash, Marquette athletics announced it would recognize the late students with the special shirts, a pregame moment of silence before every program’s first home competition — starting last weekend — and a printable version of the graphic for fans to bring in support.
“If you can try to find any (silver lining) out of (the tragedy), it’s just the show of community,” Marquette volleyball head coach Tom Mendoza said. “The Marquette athletics department, from (athletic director) Mike Broeker, and hearing (men’s lacrosse head coach Jake Richard) speak, hearing the way our players have responded and supported.
“I think it’s reminded everyone why Marquette is special and why this community is special, even though you hope that it doesn’t take something like that to show it.”
The first opportunity came Friday night with volleyball — exactly one week after the crash — in the first home athletic event since Michaud and Snyder’s deaths.
Right away, four first-years — Madison Fox, Sonia Shakir, Gianna Martin and her sister Mayli Martin — showed up in championship blue Marquette volleyball t-shirts holding printed copies of the graphic.
“It’s important to keep saying their names and keep them up,” Fox said. “And don’t let them [be forgotten].”
The four students were at the Sept. 5 volleyball game the night Snyder and Michaud were killed. After the game, the students were in a dining hall when one got an email from the university.
“We were speechless,” Fox said. “It was just so sad, like it was something so hard to process.”
Immediately after the university announced the printable graphics, the group of students knew they were going to participate. During the pre-game moment of silence, they held the signs for all in the Al to see.
“It’s really important that we show that respect and also that support,” Gianna said.
“Regardless if we knew them or not, it’s still a loss,” continued Mayli.
During the moment of silence, Fox said she thought about the importance of taking advantage of each and every day, living it to the fullest. Shakir thought something similar. Gianna was reminded how short life can be, how nothing is guaranteed. Mayli was touched by the Marquette community’s response in the wake of the tragedy.
“Having alums here, fans of Marquette, family, students, everybody here, really shows how tight-knit the community is,” Mayli said.
The two other games over the weekend, men’s and women’s soccer, also honored Michaud and Snyder with pre-game shirts and a moment of silence.
Honoring the lives of Scott and Noah
#WeAreMarquette | #MUStrong pic.twitter.com/EiiYpkfNVW
— MARQUETTE Soccer (@MarquetteWSOC) September 14, 2025
“We’re honored,” men’s soccer head coach David Korn said. “It’s been an honor to hopefully put some positive smiles on people’s faces. But more than anything [to] honor those two individuals and certainly continue to hope that they are honored for many, many years to come.”
This article was written by Jack Albright. He can be reached at jack.albright@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @JackAlbrightMU.