Ross Bjork's first official day on the job as Ole Miss athletics director is April 7, but he's been involved on some big fronts since his announcement last week. Here are some highlights of our visit Wednesday afternoon following the Adrian Wiggins presser, excerpts from a Q-&-A coming in the Daily Journal:

On Ole Miss: “It's a great place that has an aura that is unmatched on many levels.”

Marketing for athletics: “Marketing is the front porch of the athletics program. It's very important. It's a priority for us. How we speak to the community is so important. A lot of times it's the only voice that people hear, because everything is so fast.”

Are you active on Twitter? “I've been off the grid, because I needed to stay silent during the search and hiring. I love Twitter. I think it's a great way to interact with fans. I've picked up over 2,000 followers since I was named last week. I think people want that platform to hear from Ole Miss athletics and to hear from me, so I'm going to use it a lot. There may be some days that I don't have time, but other than that, I'm going to be on there promoting our student-athletes, our teams, our programs and really speaking and interacting with fans as much as possible.”

Can you give some examples of learning experiences and your growth as an AD? “That first football season (2-10, 2-6 Sun Belt), really, that was a teachable moment, because we knew we had the right guy in Willie Taggart. That was something that we grew from. I've dealt with men's basketball really since the day I got to Western Kentucky. There were a lot of challenges, a lot of issues with the program. To me, I learned a ton from the day I started at Western Kentucky until we hired Ray Harper as our coach. Those are probably the two biggest moments in terms of learning how to deal with coaches as an athletics director. Now, before I could have opinions, but as the AD, I have to make the decision. You grow with each decision. Some are good, some are bad, and some you just have to live with and correct the next time around.”

What were some things you dealt with in previous stops that have prepared you for this moment? “Just being around great leaders. It's being around great leadership but also understanding that our job is all about the student-athletes. A lot of times in the jobs I head, I didn't really understand that, because I was deal with fund-raising, I was dealing with donors. Everything we have to do is all to beneft the student-athletes. We wouldn't have jobs. I had to learn that part of it, but also, this is a serious business. People take athletics serious, and that's not necessarily the right thing, but we have a responsibility because of that.”