Boise State Athletic Director Mark Coyle has been named to the same position at Syracuse, per an SU release. He takes over for interim AD Pete Sala, who served the position for three months after Daryl Gross stepped down.

Coyle will assume the role on July 6 and be formally introduced this Monday on the SU campus.

“I am truly impressed with Syracuse University’s athletics program and I am honored to have been selected athletic director,” Coyle said in the release. “Throughout my career I have been committed to developing student-athletes and athletics staff to be leaders both inside the classroom and on the court and playing fields. I recognize that Syracuse University student-athletes, coaches, athletic staff and fans are among the best in the country. I am eager to work beside them and look forward to becoming a part of Orange Nation.”

BSU won 12 conference championships in Coyle’s time there, including titles in six different sports. In 2014-15, the Broncos won conference championships in football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball.

“Mark has accomplished a great deal in his time as Boise State’s director of athletics, and we wish him, Krystan, and their family every happiness and success,” Boise State Athletics said in a statement to The Daily Orange.

From a fundraising standpoint, Coyle helped raise more than $40 million in capital gifts and annual donations. Per the release, Coyle also renegotiated the multi-media marketing rights agreement with Learfield Communications, which came out to over $42 million in revenue for BSU’s athletic department.

“Mark has an outstanding record as a director of athletics and is known throughout the country for his professional accomplishments,” SU Chancellor Kent Syverud said in the release. “His strong academic values and commitment to the welfare of student-athletes, combined with his record of achievement in fundraising, make him the right person to lead Syracuse University Athletics forward at this important time for the University.”

Coyle’s other past stops include HOST Communications, Inc., which was acquired by Syracuse partner IMG in 2007. He also served as the associate athletics director of external relations at the University of Minnesota and in several roles in Kentucky’s athletic department before going to Boise State.

Gross spent a decade at the helm of Syracuse Athletics, and led the Orange in its move to the Atlantic Coast Conference, boosting the success of olympic sports and helping install new facilities for a variety of athletic teams.

Coyle inherits a position that now has to deal with an ongoing NCAA appeals process and a department that has gained negative publicity for the status of the No. 44 with the football program as well.

He has been the director of athletics at Boise State since late 2011 and overseen a football team at BSU that has had consistent success on a national level, something he’ll have to try and do with a struggling SU program.

Published on June 19, 2015 at 9:05 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman