Sunday Q&A: Mark Coyle, Gophers athletic director

Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle has been in his new job for a month and a half — a time during which he's started evaluating the department's future. He chatted recently with the Star Tribune's Michael Rand on a number of subjects, both professional and personal:

Q People have brought up the idea that there are big decisions looming for you, especially with the major revenue sports. The football program is looking to take a step forward with a head coach [Tracy Claeys] who had the interim label taken off. Men's basketball and Richard Pitino are coming off a very disappointing year. The list goes on and on. How do you approach the idea that there is this big set of things you need to tackle early on?

A Are there decisions to be made? Yes, I get that. I always go back to having transitioned at Boise State, we were in multiple conferences when conference realignment was going on and we faced a lot of decisions there. Last year at Syracuse there were decisions. Minnesota is no different. But when I talk about wanting to listen, I think the more information I can gather, the better we can make decisions that impact people in the right way.

Q What was it like to have the J Robinson situation thrown at you?

A J and I, having been here for four years previously, we worked closely together and I worked closely with the wrestling program. … It's a difficult situation for everybody involved. But again, to be fair to J and the students, we have to gather the information before we can make decisions.

Q In your introductory news conference, you became emotional talking about Minnesota. Why did this become a special place, even though you're not from here originally?

A Growing up in Iowa, I could not have had a better upbringing. I had phenomenal parents, two older brothers and a younger sister — tight-knit family and I had unbelievable support. We would come to the Twin Cities for a Vikings game and we would go to northern Minnesota every summer, up to Sand Lake, and spend a week there. My father was a doctor and worked incredibly long hours. It was always great spending time with him and seeing him relaxed — not having that beeper on his hip. … And the Midwest, this is such a great place. Selfishly, to have a chance to raise our kids in an environment we're used to, with our values, was very important to me and my wife.

Q Now that you're maybe getting settled in, what do you find that you really enjoy about the area?

A Well, my wife [Krystan] and I both love to run. That's how we met, running, when we were in Chicago. It's been nice to run down by the river.

Q How did you get into running?

A I played football at Drake, and after football I went down to Florida State and got my master's in sports administration. I really didn't exercise for that year after football. The last episode of "Cheers," I remember watching it while eating chips and I thought to myself, I have to start exercising again. I started running after that. When I met my wife, we were both in Chicago and we started running. She is much better than me — she runs marathons. I always try to keep up her. But I enjoy it because selfishly it's 45 minutes without my cellphone.