SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Jim Boeheim became the face of Syracuse University over the past five decades, first as player, then as coach — revered for wins and delivering a national title to a struggling city in 2003. But the coda to his decorated career has become tinged with undeniable blemishes, laid out in harsh penalties for violations the NCAA claims show Boeheim and the university lost control of athletics.
Boeheim and Syracuse officials acknowledged the unwanted ties Wednesday in announcing he will retire after three more seasons, while insisting they don’t agree with parts of the scathing NCAA report and will appeal to try to save scholarships and wins.
Syracuse University chancellor Kent Syverud said Boeheim decided to make the announcement to “bring certainty to the team and program in the coming years” and to allow for a smooth transition.
“Coach Jim Boeheim has been a mainstay at Syracuse University for more than one-third of our entire 144-year history,” Syverud said in a statement. “He enrolled as a student here in 1962 and has never left. He has been the embodiment of Orange pride.”
The violations, lasting more than a decade under Boeheim’s watch, involved academic misconduct, extra benefits and the university’s drug-testing policy, according to a March 6 report by the NCAA Committee on Infractions. Boeheim is already suspended for the first half of the next Atlantic Coast Conference season, a total of nine games. Syracuse will also have three scholarships taken away for four seasons and all wins vacated in which an ineligible player participated during five seasons between 2004 and 2012. The total wins removed from records could be as high as 108, depending on what happens in the appeal process. Syracuse has already vacated 24 wins.
Athletic director Daryl Gross is also stepping aside, taking a marketing position with the school. Pete Sala will serve as interim AD.
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