U.S. Soccer has named Kate Markgraf, who played on the U.S. women's national team's 1999 World Cup-winning squad, as the first general manager of the USWNT.
Earnie Stewart, who has held the same role for the U.S. men's team for the past year, has been promoted to sporting director by U.S. Soccer. The former USMNT player will oversee all men's and women's national team programs and other areas for the federation.
Markgraf, 42, also won two Olympic gold medals during a 12-year playing career as a defender for the U.S. in which she represented the country 201 times from 1998 to 2010.
She will take over at a particularly important time for the women's national team.
Markgraf must find a successor for coach Jill Ellis, who announced retirement after becoming only the second coach in men's and women's soccer history to win two World Cup titles , and will lead the USWNT as players are in the midst of a lawsuit against U.S. Soccer over allegations of pay inequity relative to what U.S. men's team players receive.
The Washington Post reported in July that Markgraf, a native of Michigan who played collegiately at Notre Dame, was the frontrunner for the position.
Since she retired as a player in 2010, Markgraf has worked as a TV analyst, including at this year's World Cup. She also was an assistant at Marquette among other coaching jobs and has earned two Master's degrees from Wisconsin-Milwaukee, in kinesiology and educational psychology.
"This new role presents some big challenges, but all are exciting, important to the future of the game and certainly energizing," Markgraf said in a release. "I'm honored to come back to an organization and program that I love, one which helped mold me as a player and person, and to contribute to its continued growth.
"To reach the top of the world is difficult enough, but to stay there takes a tremendous amount of hard work by players, coaches, staff and administrators, and I'm looking forward to collaborating with those inside and outside of U.S. Soccer to make that happen."
Stewart, 50, was born in the Netherlands, where his father was serving in the U.S. Air Force. He first played for the USMNT in 1990 and appeared in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cups, racking up 101 international appearances in 15 years.
"I am thrilled to have this opportunity as we take another important step in our mission to make soccer the preeminent sport in the United States," Stewart said in a release.
"I firmly believe that having alignment in all the technical areas and programs of the federation will fuel ideas, create better understanding and ultimately improve performance. We want U.S. Soccer to be the leaders and drivers of the sport in this country, which also means we have to engage and communicate with participants at all levels. I look forward to the challenge."
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