Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski
Orange coaches weigh in on Wildhack
7/14/2016 3:20:00 PM | General
John Wildhack, a 1980 alumnus of Syracuse University, was introduced as the Orange's new director of athletics on Tuesday after a 36-year career at ESPN. Syracuse's head coaches have shared their thoughts on the department's new leader.
"He had an unbelievably successful career, which really relates to athletic directing. An athletic director, at heart, deals with the media, the fans and the staff; but he basically has coaches that he coaches. He (Wildhack) understands how to do that. He'll be very successful here." Â
- Jim BoeheimÂ
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"You're getting a guy that loves Syracuse. A guy who's has managed and worked with people for 36 years and he understands the sports world. I think more importantly he understands people – he's a great people-person. The most important thing is that he will be a great athletic director."
- Jim BoeheimÂ
"John doesn't shy away from taking risks, and he's always pushing his teams to be the first and the best."
- Dino Babers Â
 "I expect John to be a catalyst for much growth and success in the future. I'm eager to welcome someone of his caliber to the Syracuse Athletics team and I am certain we will accomplish great things—both on and off the field."
- Dino BabersÂ
Â
"I'm excited about it. I've known John for quite some time through his brother Henry. I think obviously the position he had at ESPN was very important, so for him to leave that shows his desire to be here. He showed his excitement in accepting the position."
- John DeskoÂ
"I just think when you look at what he brings, a savvy businessman, I feel great with the hire. I think it's a really good hire for our program. It's good to have him with us. I feel very confident they made the right decision.''
- Quentin HillsmanÂ
"I'm excited to work with him. I think he's got a strong background coming from ESPN where he's always working with athletics. When he talked about building a culture and passion, these are all things that have the ability for achieving greatness at Syracuse. Whether you're in the work force or playing fields, it's all the same. I don't know what else to say besides welcome to our family and that I look forward to working with him and learning from him."
- Ange BradleyÂ
Â
"He's a very impressive man with very impressive credentials. I liked everything he had to say today and I feel like we're in good hands. Now that I've been here 11 years I feel like I'm a Syracuse guy and it's nice to have a Syracuse guy taking over."
- Chris FoxÂ
"We're all excited and very appreciative of the Chancellor and the search committee. They worked very quickly and to come up with someone of John's caliber makes us all very excited to be a part of the next stage of Syracuse Athletics."
- Ian McIntyreÂ
"The first thing I'd like to do is introduce him to our young men. We have a terrific group of young men and I'm looking forward to showing them off and demonstrating the success they've had in the classroom and on the soccer pitch."
- Ian McIntyre
"I'm excited to have John return to Syracuse as our athletic director. He has an impressive list of accomplishments and probably more importantly he understands Syracuse University, its athletic traditions and its expectations for excellence."Â
- Mike Bosch
Â
"I think John's proven leadership skills makes him ideal for this job. I think people make too much of 'prior experience' in athletic administration. It's not rocket science. You manage relationships, develop revenue streams, and create an environment that allows the people under you—coaches, athletes, and staff—to be successful. I suspect there is a significant amount of overlap with his job description at ESPN and he was clearly successful at that. I very much look forward to working with him."
- Dave ReischmanÂ
"I'm very excited as part of the staff. I have a sense from John (Wildhack) that his loyalty is not only to the University and the area but is to all of us. I like his background, his character and his sound principles. I sense a lot of humility in John, in a good way. I'm not only excited to work with him individually, but I think as a staff everyone is generally excited. So many good things are going on here, as he mentioned, that I think he'll build off of for the Athletic Department. I think it's a great hire for many reasons. I met him previously through his brother, whom I'm close friends with. I really look forward to all the great things he's going to be able to do for our department."
- Paul FlanaganÂ
"The hiring of John Wildhack is another shining example of Syracuse's commitment to staying on the leading edge of collegiate athletics. John's leadership credentials and professional skillset are ideally matched to the needs of modern collegiate athletics and the new ACC, in particular. We could not be more excited."
- Justin Moore
"He had an unbelievably successful career, which really relates to athletic directing. An athletic director, at heart, deals with the media, the fans and the staff; but he basically has coaches that he coaches. He (Wildhack) understands how to do that. He'll be very successful here." Â
- Jim BoeheimÂ
Â
.@therealboeheim on 'Cuse Director of Athletics John Wildhack pic.twitter.com/jNrym13ijs
— Syracuse Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) July 18, 2016
"You're getting a guy that loves Syracuse. A guy who's has managed and worked with people for 36 years and he understands the sports world. I think more importantly he understands people – he's a great people-person. The most important thing is that he will be a great athletic director."
- Jim BoeheimÂ
"John doesn't shy away from taking risks, and he's always pushing his teams to be the first and the best."
- Dino Babers Â
 "I expect John to be a catalyst for much growth and success in the future. I'm eager to welcome someone of his caliber to the Syracuse Athletics team and I am certain we will accomplish great things—both on and off the field."
- Dino BabersÂ
Â
Coach Desko expresses his excitement for hiring John Wildhack as @Cuse's new AD: pic.twitter.com/6Bpw0xdhA5
— Syracuse Lacrosse (@CuseMLAX) July 12, 2016
"I'm excited about it. I've known John for quite some time through his brother Henry. I think obviously the position he had at ESPN was very important, so for him to leave that shows his desire to be here. He showed his excitement in accepting the position."
- John DeskoÂ
"I just think when you look at what he brings, a savvy businessman, I feel great with the hire. I think it's a really good hire for our program. It's good to have him with us. I feel very confident they made the right decision.''
- Quentin HillsmanÂ
"I'm excited to work with him. I think he's got a strong background coming from ESPN where he's always working with athletics. When he talked about building a culture and passion, these are all things that have the ability for achieving greatness at Syracuse. Whether you're in the work force or playing fields, it's all the same. I don't know what else to say besides welcome to our family and that I look forward to working with him and learning from him."
- Ange BradleyÂ
Â
Head coach Chris Fox expressed his excitement for John Wildhack's hiring to be @Cuse's next AD: pic.twitter.com/3xKBXR5cjS
— Syracuse XC/Track (@CuseXCTF) July 12, 2016
"He's a very impressive man with very impressive credentials. I liked everything he had to say today and I feel like we're in good hands. Now that I've been here 11 years I feel like I'm a Syracuse guy and it's nice to have a Syracuse guy taking over."
- Chris FoxÂ
"We're all excited and very appreciative of the Chancellor and the search committee. They worked very quickly and to come up with someone of John's caliber makes us all very excited to be a part of the next stage of Syracuse Athletics."
- Ian McIntyreÂ
"The first thing I'd like to do is introduce him to our young men. We have a terrific group of young men and I'm looking forward to showing them off and demonstrating the success they've had in the classroom and on the soccer pitch."
- Ian McIntyre
"I'm excited to have John return to Syracuse as our athletic director. He has an impressive list of accomplishments and probably more importantly he understands Syracuse University, its athletic traditions and its expectations for excellence."Â
- Mike Bosch
Â
"I think John's proven leadership skills makes him ideal for this job. I think people make too much of 'prior experience' in athletic administration. It's not rocket science. You manage relationships, develop revenue streams, and create an environment that allows the people under you—coaches, athletes, and staff—to be successful. I suspect there is a significant amount of overlap with his job description at ESPN and he was clearly successful at that. I very much look forward to working with him."
- Dave ReischmanÂ
"I'm very excited as part of the staff. I have a sense from John (Wildhack) that his loyalty is not only to the University and the area but is to all of us. I like his background, his character and his sound principles. I sense a lot of humility in John, in a good way. I'm not only excited to work with him individually, but I think as a staff everyone is generally excited. So many good things are going on here, as he mentioned, that I think he'll build off of for the Athletic Department. I think it's a great hire for many reasons. I met him previously through his brother, whom I'm close friends with. I really look forward to all the great things he's going to be able to do for our department."
- Paul FlanaganÂ
"The hiring of John Wildhack is another shining example of Syracuse's commitment to staying on the leading edge of collegiate athletics. John's leadership credentials and professional skillset are ideally matched to the needs of modern collegiate athletics and the new ACC, in particular. We could not be more excited."
- Justin Moore
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