ASU Athletic Director Lisa Love had just been introduced to the Sun Devil football team for the first time when a familiar hand was raised.
Senior wide receiver Derek Hagan asked a simple request of Love: sing ASU's fight song for the team.
Love instantly turned toward coach Dirk Koetter for any sort of assistance; Koetter just laughed.
"I may have turned several shades of red. I was looking to Coach Koetter to throw me a life preserver," Love said. "I'll be ready at some point, but give me a chance; I've been a little busy."
Busy is a light term to describe the new lifestyle that Love has adapted since leaving her role as USC's senior associate athletic director.
Love, who had been scheduled to climb 14,162-foot Mount Shasta in northern California, had to rearrange her routine in order to accept her new position at ASU.
After coaching volleyball for 21 years, Love may find it hard to hold back her passion for sports.
"I'll be the first to tell you, I'm a great fan, but I've got opinions. I'm not going to second guess a coach's decision, but I will say where to attack and from what angle," Love said. "(Coaching) is still in my blood. I retired when I still loved it."
However, prior to spending a majority of her first day talking with the media and building bridges with her co-workers, Love found herself admiring the scenic view from her office window that overlooks Sun Devil Stadium when she first walked in.
"Is the Coliseum positioned between two beautiful buttes like Sun Devil Stadium?" Love said. "If you can't be intellectually stimulated by (ASU's beauty), you don't have a pulse."
Love's passion and can-do attitude are two key qualities that date back to her time as a four-year volleyball starter at Texas Tech.
Prior to her role at ASU, Love coached the USC women's volleyball team for 10 years and compiled a 205-93 record.
She led the Trojans to nine NCAA tournament berths.
Prior to coaching USC, Love was named national Coach of the Year in 1988 after coaching the University of Texas-Arlington volleyball team to a 30-4 record.
Loves team fell one win shy of a Final Four appearance that season after being eliminated by the University of Texas.
The University of Texas, under Mick Haley, went on to win the championship.
Shortly thereafter, Haley followed Love's footsteps, becoming her successor as USC women's volleyball coach after she was promoted to assistant athletic director in 1998.
"It's never personal with her; she finds the positive in everything," Haley said. "She competes like a son-of-a-gun, and (Love) has a great intensity and passion to play hard, but she's also able to never make it personal."
Haley said ASU is taking a step in the right direction by hiring Love to lead Sun Devil athletics.
"Having an athletic director that understands the sport is a great asset," Haley said. "If she gets her staff to play like she made her teams, they'll play hard, but they'll also have a lot of fun."
Although the coaching chapter of her life has come to a halt, Love is passionate about her new position. Her co-workers agree.
"She's easy to talk to and easy to understand. She jumped in with both feet, and she's been very receptive to the change she's undergone," Senior Associate Athletic Director Tom Collins said.
With a personable attitude, it's easy to think that Love doesn't let small things bother her.
But, like any prominent administrator, Love's goals and achievements will mold how she is untimely perceived.
As far as Love's list of things to do, there's one specific goal that stands out among the rest -- a Rose Bowl appearance.
"We'll be there," Love said. "The biggest thing we need to is to play in front of 73,000 people. The product is good. The winning is there. We need Sun Devil Stadium to rock."
Don't mistake Love for the average bandwagon fan. Since switching gears, she's a Sun Devil fan at heart.
"I won't miss a game. I'll be at every single one," Love said.
And, she won't stop there.
"I'll be on the field celebrating, and I'll visit with the team afterward. It's part of the joy."
Reach the reporter at james.schmehl@asu.edu.
