St. John's University Athletics
QUOTES: Mike Cragg Introductory Press Conference
10/2/2018 6:04:00 PM | General
St. John’s Welcomes Director of Athletics Mike Cragg to University Community
St. John's University President Conrado "Bobby" Gempesaw, Ph.D.…
On Mike Cragg:
"I am confident as President of St. John's University that the future of Red Storm Athletics will be brighter with the leadership of Mike Cragg given his outstanding experience and commitment to excellence in academics and athletics. I agreed with Mike when he said that together we can build a championship program and put St. John's University back in its well-earned and respected place among the elite programs in the country."
St. John's Director of Athletics Mike Cragg…
On joining St. John's:
"Joining the St. John's family I want to be able to help us imagine across the board. … There's a great history here and I want to be part of the imagining the championships in the future here."
On his new role:
"Our family is about caring, so that's a word that is very special to us. I feel in this new role that I'm a caregiver to St. John's. I want you to see all of us as caregivers. That's been a part of our lives throughout. … We've cared for each other and we've cared for the community that we've been a part of. That's who we're going to be here and care for St. John's."
On his role with student athletes:
"We are in the kid business. … It was actually a term that (Tom) Butters said very early in my career in that, when you make a decision, what is the best decision for the kids? I've done that my entire 31 years."
On the culture at St. John's:
"For us, we wanted to be at a place that values the student-athletes and has a mission of strong core values. We've been in that for a long time, so coming here we feel like it's very much family first and a place where you can believe and care for each other. That's the culture we want to be part of and it's actually much better than I ever imagined."
On the prestige of St. John's University:
"It's a legendary place. Once you know the history, and I've seen it from a distance, I've been competing against it, that you know it's special. But when you step on foot and you start to meet the people who love this place, not just like it, they love it, that's the environment we want to be in. So it was an instant appeal that we need to get this job and we want to be here. So that's why I said it's an absolute dream for us to be here and get started and we are ready to go."