Gophers coach Jerry Kill wanted football questions Friday after the season's first practice, but reporters were mostly focused on the sudden resignation of athletic director Norwood Teague.
Kill said he "feels bad for everybody in the situation" and stressed that he doesn't think the news will delay the school's athletics facilities project.
After answering several more questions about Teague's resignation, Kill said: "We're practicing. Do you think I want to talk about this? I want to talk about practice. So it's a distraction. All of it is a distraction.
"And I hope everybody that's involved in the thing, everything goes OK and everybody's all right, and we move on as a university."
Several football boosters at Friday's practice sounded ready to move on from Teague.
"This is a fantastic opportunity to get an athletics director here who better understands athletics and fundraising that are so critical to bring Minnesota's program up to the standards they should be," said Herb Lanese, a booster from northern Virginia.
Lanese is among the participants in the Gophers' second annual Boys of Fall Elite Camp, which grants behind-the-scene access to the team this weekend for $2,000.
The campers watched as Kill roamed the field, setting the tone for the new season. At one point, Kill could be heard yelling, "Hustle men, hustle! You go slow today, it'll be the last time."