The auditorium erupted into applause no more than five words into Mark Coyle’s first time talking to the media as Syracuse University’s newest athletic director.

“Are you more a like Jake Crouthamel or Daryl Gross?” a reporter asked, referring to the past two Syracuse athletic directors.

“I’m more like Mark Coyle,” he said confidently, which led to a deafening roar of cheers.

The 10th athletic director in school history spoke to the media, Board of Trustees, members of SU administration and Orange head coaches for about 15 minutes on Monday morning. He discussed the state of Syracuse football as well as inheriting a basketball program marred by NCAA sanctions.

Coyle previously served as the athletic director at Boise State since 2011, and oversaw a school that had success in football and overcame NCAA sanctions of its own — one of the reasons he thought Syracuse wanted to hire him. He was named the AD at SU on Friday evening and will officially start his tenure on July 6.

“My expectations are simple,” Coyle, who spoke with all of SU’s coaches this weekend, said. “… We’re going to get our degrees, and we’re going to compete for championships. And I want to make sure that we all understand that.”

In terms of the sanctions SU is facing, Coyle said he’s read the NCAA report and noted that the search committee that recommended him to Chancellor Kent Syverud was open about it throughout the process.

“I think what attracted them to me and what attracted me to Syracuse was I had just gone through that process,” Coyle said. “I think Boise State handled that process very well … I feel very comfortable going through that process here.”

Coyle said he would place focus on all of the Syracuse sports but wasn’t shy about admitting the success he’s seen while working at Kentucky, primarily known as a basketball powerhouse, and Boise State, widely considered the premier mid-major football school in the nation.

Syracuse went 3-9 last season in football. And with all sports at Syracuse, Coyle said they’re going to do what they can to improve and win.

“I promise you, no one wants to win more than Coach Shafer, his students and his staff and our fan base wants to win, I want to win,” Coyle said. “I’ve got to come in here and take a look at what we’re doing. I promise you, we’ll give it every ounce of energy we have.”

The Carrier Dome, which has had rumors of being replaced or remodeled over the past few years, was also asked about. Coyle said those are discussions he would have with current interim athletic director and Carrier Dome manager Pete Sala, but said he had been a big fan of the venue even as he grew up in Iowa watching games in the Dome on television.

“Obviously the Carrier Dome has special meaning. And I know there have been conversations about updating it,” Coyle said. “… But that could be a tremendous recruiting tool for us. Our goal is to get 18-year-old kids to say yes to Syracuse. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all about recruiting. And if we can add that wow factor to increase that great tradition, we’ll be OK.”

Published on June 22, 2015 at 12:16 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3