 Bateman focused on Sears Cup rankings of sports programs, which improved during his presidency, with eight sports in the top ten in 1999.In 2002, the Marriott School began giving the Merrill J. Bateman award to BYU students who serve and lead in their communities.Bateman was an executive with Mars, Incorporated in England and the United States from 1971 to 1975, and for a brief time in 1979 before heading his own consulting and capital management companies in Orem, Utah.