Dynamic Duo Together Again in Speaker Series

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Mark Coyle and John Cunningham, two current Athletic Directors at Division I institutions, shared their passions and knowledge of leadership during a Leadership U Speaker Series event on December 15. These highly respected and successful leaders shared their unique leadership journeys while bringing a special dynamic to the conversation considering their years of experience in leading together at the same institutions.

John Cunningham began his career in college athletics serving in a variety of roles at Boise State, Texas Christian University, and Maryland. After his tenure at Syracuse, Cunningham made the move to the University of Minnesota Athletics Department where he was the Deputy Athletics Director for Administration for three years. In 2019, Cunningham was hired at the University of Cincinnati as the Director of Athletics.

Mark Coyle has had a variety of experiences in college athletics that got him to where he is today. Some of those roles include being Associate Athletic Director for External Affairs, Director of Marketing, Deputy AD, and Athletics Director. Coyle has worked at several Universities such as Miami, Kentucky, Boise State, and Syracuse. Since 2016, Coyle has served as the leader of the University of Minnesota Athletics Department.

Given Coyle and Cunningham's previous working relationship, mentorship was at the core of the discussion throughout the event. Over a three year span, Cunningham worked under Coyle at the University of Minnesota, learning what it takes to thrive in the head position. Cunningham credited much of his career path to Coyle. When Cunningham was asked, "What best prepared you for being in the AD position?" he stated, "Being able to see firsthand the challenges and Mark bringing me into those conversations." To this day, Coyle and Cunningham remain connected and share in one another's challenges and successes.

With both leaders being in positions that require difficult decision making and being challenged in many capacities - being genuine, compassionate, authentic, and honest remains their utmost priority. Coyle describes the role of athletic director as "always being on" which can be explained as being the most genuine person you can be at all times. Throughout the event, both individuals emphasized how they always put people at the center of their mission. For the both of them, it is the people around them and interactions with student-athletes and staff that inspire them to be in the role.

Mark Coyle and John Cunningham's collaboration on this Speaker Series event provided many valuable insights on leadership, mentorship, and more. Leadership U is looking forward to hosting more Speaker Series events in 2022.

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