The following article summarizes the original event which is listed below the summary.
February speaker championed Gopher Athletics
On a cold and snowy day in February a hearty band of UMRA retirees gathered to hear U of M Athletic Director Mark Coyle. We were rewarded with an engaging and candid presentation about the direction and accomplishments of the Athletics department as well as a raft of statistical information about the current status of Gopher Athletics. Coyle also answered questions in a lively exchange that ranged from football to women’s hockey and the salaries of coaches vs. the University president.
We learned that the Athletics department has 25 intercollegiate athletic teams, serves more than 700 student athletes, employs more than 275 full time employees (plus 800-900 event staff), and has a current budget of $121 million, which ranks eighth in the Big Ten.
Coyle emphasized the academic accomplishments of the student athletes. As a group they have achieved a 3.2+ GPA for 10 straight semesters and a graduation success rate of 93 percent—a department record. “Doing it right matters here,” Coyle said. “We want to do everything we can to achieve athletic excellence, to build up this University academically, and to prepare our athletes to be productive members of society.”
The quality of the program is perhaps best demonstrated by Minnesota’s ranking in the Learfield Directors’ Cup. This is an annual competition among more than 300 schools that measures overall performance of athletic departments. Ours is ranked 19which is in the top 7 percent. It shows a well-run and very competitive department.
Coyle also discussed the department’s core values and guiding principles—action, honesty, humility, and innovation. “I’m around people who care. That’s what I love about my job,” he said.
The Athletics department is sometimes thought of as the “front porch” of the University because of its visibility and the fact that the first encounter with the U for many people is through athletic events. Based on our experience with Coyle, it appears the porch is in good hands and doing well.
—Bill Donohue, president-elect and chair, Program Committee
Raising the bar for Gopher Athletics
Tue, February 26, 2019, at 11:30am
Conference Room ABC, Campus Club, Fourth Floor, Coffman Memorial Union
We are pleased that Athletic Director Mark Coyle will join UMRA at our February 26 luncheon to talk about “Gopher Advocacy,” addressing the current state of University of Minnesota Athletics and commenting on the national intercollegiate athletic scene. Coyle returned to the University in May 2016 as athletic director and has been incredibly active in restoring the department and building a strong and well-respected organization.
Previously, Coyle served as the athletic director at both Syracuse University and Boise State. He also worked at the University of Kentucky for several years, eventually rising to deputy athletic director. Prior to that, he was at the University of Minnesota as associate athletic director for external relations, working for a portion of that time under Athletic Director Joel Maturi.
Coyle has been extraordinarily successful in each of these posts and is a great fit for his current job at the U. So far, the department has achieved great success in academics, competitively, and in attracting and retaining great coaches. He will undoubtedly comment on the hiring of women’s basketball head coach Lindsey Whalen, football head coach P. J. Fleck, and men’s hockey head coach Robert Motzko, as well as the retention of Hugh McCutcheon, head coach of Minnesota’s women’s volleyball team. Coyle has helped create a culture of compliance in the department and has continued a very strong program for monitoring, educating, and complying with NCAA rules. He has helped restore the reputation of the department through his clear, direct, and high-integrity leadership.
While the athletic department has always been a flashpoint for controversy, under Coyle’s leadership the focus has been on academic achievement and competitive success. The department has very high graduation rates, GPAs, and NCAA academic rankings, both on an absolute basis and in comparison to other programs in the country. The teams have also been incredibly successful. For example, this fall the football team finished the season very well, beating Wisconsin and then Georgia Tech in a bowl game. Even more impressive, the volleyball team was ranked in the top three or four all year and went far into the NCAA tournament. Expectations are, of course, high for women’s basketball because of the hiring of Whalen, and for men’s basketball because of the high level of talent on the team.
We look forward to hearing from Coyle about the department and his future expectations for Gopher Athletics.
—Bill Donohue, president-elect and chair, Program Committee
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