EAST LANSING After the pomp and circumstance of her formal welcoming the pep band, the speeches and interviews new Michigan State womens basketball coach Robyn Fralick had a fleeting moment Tuesday to say hello to some of MSUs other coaches, milling around in the Breslin Center Hall of history.

There, Fralick sought out volleyball coach Leah Johnson, whose 3-month-old daughter Rosalind had everyones attention. Nothing pauses the whirlwind of everything else like the presence of a baby.

Fralick and Johnson (and Rosalind) spoke for less than a minute, but there was a kinship, one that had already been formed over the phone last week, before Fralick even took the MSU job.

Six days earlier she had been coaching a different team at another school in an actual game. Her entire life existed in a different community. Fralick had reached out to Johnson as she weighed whether to uproot her family and move them to this community.

She was asking me a lot about family: Is this a place that your kids are happy? Is your husband happy? Does the community welcome you? Do you feel like you can have a little balance in your life? Johnson recalled.

Johnson had been through it all a year earlier choosing to leave a smaller Division I program in a nearby state for MSU. It might seem like a no-brainer decision, but Fralick at Bowling Green, like Johnson at Illinois State, had a good thing going and other options.

What shell find at Michigan State is camaraderie. A core of coaches relatively new to MSU, of a similar age and place in their careers and life. A group that will largely determine the trajectory of MSU athletics beyond football and mens basketball: Fralick, Johnson, hockey coach Adam Nightingale, softball coach Sharonda McDonald-Kelley and womens soccer coach Jeff Hosler, all in their late 30s and early 40s, all relatively recent hires, all but Hosler brought in by still-relatively new athletic director Alan Haller.

It'd be kind of cool if we can make this kind of a full revitalization of the athletic department, Hosler said Thursday. We all came in at the same time and could be here for the next 15-20 years.

MORE: Inside Michigan State's hiring of Robyn Fralick as its women's basketball coach: 'It still feels surreal'

Thats a long time. But thats the dream on days like Tuesday. MSU is a place you can build something and stay. It can be a destination job for successful coaches. Its up to Haller and Co. to make sure it always feels that way, in terms of priority, salary and resources.

Haller didnt hire Fralick, 41, because shes the same age as Johnson, a couple years younger than Nightingale and Hosler, and just a few years older than McDonald-Kelley. But he did want someone who brought energy to the program, to her players and to the athletic department.

If people want to connect that with age, thats up to them, Haller said. Tom (Izzo) brings a lot of energy and hes 68 years old. Youve got to balance (the ability to have) longevity (at MSU) with someone that has had success, thats trending up and is ready for a move.

MSU has a number of established coaches a decade or so older than this new wave, a group thats been around a while and enjoyed varying degrees of success. And then theres Izzo, who was MSUs head mens basketball coach when Fralick was playing high school basketball at Okemos. He was a star when she was a fan. Fralick was glad to get Izzos endorsement which Izzo gave Haller before she was hired.

You can see what Haller is trying to do with these recent coaching moves, all of which, other than Hosler, have occurred during his short tenure. The success of an athletic director is bluntly measured, first and foremost, by the success of the school's football coach. Haller led the hiring of Mel Tucker. Hes tied to him. At some point down the road, Haller might have to find Izzos replacement. That would be a large part of his legacy, too. But a successful athletic department is more than football and mens hoops. And being a healthy, well-rounded and competitive athletics operation has become a priority. Expectations have been raised. Resources enhanced. New blood brought in where vigor was needed. Womens basketball the latest program to feel that jolt.

Fralick fits the bill her career is on the ascent, having won big at Division-II Ashland (104-3 in three seasons) and having turned Bowling Green from Mid-American Conference doormat to contender in five seasons. Shes coming home. She grew up going to games at Breslin. She starred a few miles down the road at Okemos. She trained at the same club as Hosler (who grew up in East Lansing), though they didnt know each other personally. She seems like a great hire.

But Tuesday she was also a mother of a 9- and 6-year-old and a wife and a new employee trying to get her bearings.

We were playing six days ago, Fralick said, looking amazed and how quickly life had changed.

She and her husband, Tim, and children, Will and Clara, planned to begin trying to find a house Wednesday.

I know what its like, Nightingale said, coming off his first season as MSUs hockey coach.

He sent Fralick a text after she was hired, congratulating her, letting her know that he and his family and staff were available if she needed anything.

I remember I was in Germany for three and a half weeks for world championships, we lose the gold medal game, Alan calls me, I get the job. We fly back the next day maybe it was a week later, we did this, Nightingale said, Its crazy.

I think when you have kids ... and you see a young family, you know what their family has gone through moving and mom being away or dad being away. And so I think there's that bond right off the bat. This is a family commitment. And I just think the whole athletic department, it's unique here, like that it is a family and there aren't egos. And as Im growing as a coach, I can go and ask questions to any coach on campus and they'll come into our offices to do the same thing.

Johnson answered Fralicks questions about MSU as only someone whos been through it can. She knew Fralick already had the skills and understanding to juggle her life and create boundaries where theyre needed.

But its great to hear it reaffirmed, that those who support you, support that, as well, Johnson said.

Michigan State, part of the reason you come here is because of the camaraderie, she continued. Like when you see all the administrators hanging around and people don't want to leave (Fralicks introduction shindig), they just linger and chitchat. There's such a friendship and a kinship here.

I do think (theres a bond) especially with those of us who are going through the stage in our life with young kids, because we can celebrate and commiserate all together, and we know the challenges that you can't always explain to others with all the travel or trying to be both places or working through the guilt, but also being able to reframe it and see it as an exceptional experience you can give your kids.

"I'm excited about meeting Robyn's family and our kids playing together and going to each other's games, seeing them all in the stands. Like, its pretty cool.

Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.

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