Chancellor Syverud Quotes
Mark Coyle Introductory Press Conference
June 22, 2015
Iocolano-Petty Football Auditorium, Syracuse, N.Y.
Chancellor Kent Syverud
“Good morning everybody and thank you Steve Ballantine, both for that introduction and your fine service both on the Board of Trustees and as chair of the athletic director search committee. Steve did a great job leading this search and as did the other committee members. I thank all the members of the search committee and all those who helped with the search, including University leaders; the Board of Trustees and its athletics committee; the search consultants; the faculty, staff and, students; and supporters of Syracuse University, who we heard from loud and clear throughout the process.”
“This was an efficient and a very thorough search. It was a committee that listened carefully to the community as part of the process. It was also, as Steve said, a search that attracted very strong candidates. Part of the reason for that is the proud history, going back more than a century, of Syracuse University athletics. Many people have worked to build that history, including many athletic directors, Jake Crouthamel, Daryl Gross, and most recently Pete Sala who has served this University tirelessly and well as the interim athletic director.”
“Today is a happy day. It’s a happy day for Syracuse University athletics. It’s a happy day for Syracuse University academics. Most importantly, it is a happy day for Syracuse University students. It’s a happy day because Mark Coyle has been recommended by our search committee as our next athletic director and I will be enthusiastically presenting that recommendation promptly to our Board of Trustees for confirmation. Mark will be in place as athletic director in 14 days. I am confident that Mark is the right leader for Syracuse University athletics.”
“He comes to Syracuse from Boise State University and has a proven record as an experienced and successful leader. He has built his career on strong academic values. He has built his career on a consistent and constant commitment to the welfare of students. Student-athletes have many demands, but their priority is academic achievement. As a former football student-athlete, Mark knows this priority and its challenges. Mark has helped students find success in sport, in the classroom, and in the community. He is consistently focused on developing students to their fullest potential, along with building a national competitive athletics program. He is also established himself as a dynamic leader in fundraising.”
“Because this appointment is so important to our students and to all who bleed Orange, I did a lot of due diligence on Mark Coyle. I spoke to presidents. I spoke to athletic directors. I spoke to coaches. They told me about a leader who works incredibly hard with great attention to detail. They told me about a leader who has thorough experience with all aspects of a competitive athletic program. They told me about a leader who they loved to work with and who they loved to work for. They told me about a leader who is relentlessly ambitious for his school, not for himself. But most of all, they told me about Mark Coyle’s values. To a person, they said Mark Coyle has absolute integrity and uncompromising loyalty to his school and to his students.”
“I have moved my own family across this country several times to come to a new University. I learned long ago that you don’t just throw your spouse and kids over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes to take a new job. Moving to a new University is a leap of faith for the whole family and it requires tireless support and openness to adventure from each member of that entire family. I am deeply grateful to Mark’s wife, Krystan, and their children, Grace, Nicholas, and Benjamin, for making this leap of faith together. I ask everyone in the Syracuse community to support them in this great task.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, please help me in welcoming Syracuse University’s next athletic director, Mark Coyle.”
June 22, 2015
Iocolano-Petty Football Auditorium, Syracuse, N.Y.
Chancellor Kent Syverud
“Good morning everybody and thank you Steve Ballantine, both for that introduction and your fine service both on the Board of Trustees and as chair of the athletic director search committee. Steve did a great job leading this search and as did the other committee members. I thank all the members of the search committee and all those who helped with the search, including University leaders; the Board of Trustees and its athletics committee; the search consultants; the faculty, staff and, students; and supporters of Syracuse University, who we heard from loud and clear throughout the process.”
“This was an efficient and a very thorough search. It was a committee that listened carefully to the community as part of the process. It was also, as Steve said, a search that attracted very strong candidates. Part of the reason for that is the proud history, going back more than a century, of Syracuse University athletics. Many people have worked to build that history, including many athletic directors, Jake Crouthamel, Daryl Gross, and most recently Pete Sala who has served this University tirelessly and well as the interim athletic director.”
“Today is a happy day. It’s a happy day for Syracuse University athletics. It’s a happy day for Syracuse University academics. Most importantly, it is a happy day for Syracuse University students. It’s a happy day because Mark Coyle has been recommended by our search committee as our next athletic director and I will be enthusiastically presenting that recommendation promptly to our Board of Trustees for confirmation. Mark will be in place as athletic director in 14 days. I am confident that Mark is the right leader for Syracuse University athletics.”
“He comes to Syracuse from Boise State University and has a proven record as an experienced and successful leader. He has built his career on strong academic values. He has built his career on a consistent and constant commitment to the welfare of students. Student-athletes have many demands, but their priority is academic achievement. As a former football student-athlete, Mark knows this priority and its challenges. Mark has helped students find success in sport, in the classroom, and in the community. He is consistently focused on developing students to their fullest potential, along with building a national competitive athletics program. He is also established himself as a dynamic leader in fundraising.”
“Because this appointment is so important to our students and to all who bleed Orange, I did a lot of due diligence on Mark Coyle. I spoke to presidents. I spoke to athletic directors. I spoke to coaches. They told me about a leader who works incredibly hard with great attention to detail. They told me about a leader who has thorough experience with all aspects of a competitive athletic program. They told me about a leader who they loved to work with and who they loved to work for. They told me about a leader who is relentlessly ambitious for his school, not for himself. But most of all, they told me about Mark Coyle’s values. To a person, they said Mark Coyle has absolute integrity and uncompromising loyalty to his school and to his students.”
“I have moved my own family across this country several times to come to a new University. I learned long ago that you don’t just throw your spouse and kids over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes to take a new job. Moving to a new University is a leap of faith for the whole family and it requires tireless support and openness to adventure from each member of that entire family. I am deeply grateful to Mark’s wife, Krystan, and their children, Grace, Nicholas, and Benjamin, for making this leap of faith together. I ask everyone in the Syracuse community to support them in this great task.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, please help me in welcoming Syracuse University’s next athletic director, Mark Coyle.”
