NCAA announces penalties resulting from investigation into Syracuse athletic program

On Friday, the NCAA announced penalties against the Syracuse men's basketball and football teams resulting from infractions by both programs over the past 14 years.

Head basketball coach Jim Boeheim has been suspended for nine Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) games, and the team will lose three scholarships over each of the next four seasons, according to a 94-page report by the NCAA that can be read in full below. The violations occurred over the past eight years. 

The NCAA did not deliver any further post-season bans after SU instituted a self-imposed ban for the 2014-15 season last month.

Syracuse will also have to vacate an unknown number of victories from 2004-07 and 2010-12. The school's 2003 national championship will not be affected.

Both the basketball and football teams have also been placed on five years' probation, according to the NCAA's report.

The NCAA sanctions are the first for SU since 1992, when the team received two years' probation and a ban from some postseason play due to recruting violations.

In an email to Syracuse students and staff, SU Chancellor Kent Syverud provided a detailed outline of some of the violations. 

In 2004-05, five student athletes received a combined total of $8,335 in extra benefits from a local YMCA employee that qualified as a University “booster.” 

The school also failed it follow the terms of its own Drug Education and Deterrence Program when multiple student-athletes tested positive for marijuana from 2001-09. 

Additionally, a men’s basketball student-athlete committed academic misconduct in 2012 by submitting a paper in a course he already passed to restore NCAA eligibility with the help of two former SU Athletics employees. 

Syverud was also critical of the NCAA and the near eight-year length of the investigation, comparing it to the investigation into the 1919 “Black Sox” World Series fixing scandal that took only two months to complete. 

Syverud said the following:

Although the University recognizes the seriousness of the violations it has acknowledged, it respectfully disagrees with certain findings of the Committee. Specifically, the University strongly disagrees that it failed to maintain institutional control over its athletics programs, or that Men’s Basketball Head Coach Jim Boeheim has taken actions that justify a finding that he was responsible for the rules violations. 

The University is considering whether it will appeal certain portions of the decision. Coach Boeheim may choose to appeal the portions of the decision that impact him personally. Should he decide to do so, we would support him in this step. 

Some may not agree with Syracuse University’s positions on these important issues. However, we hope everyone will agree that eight years is too long for an investigation and that a more expeditious and less costly process would be beneficial to student-athletes, public confidence in the NCAA enforcement process, and major intercollegiate athletics in general. 

As we move forward, we can celebrate the many positive changes we have made, the academic success of our student-athletes, and the scholarly achievements of each one of our 21,000 students. As we do, I am confident every part of our University will continue to flourish in the years ahead.

Read Syverud's full message here.

Read the full NCAA report:

Syracuse NCAA Report by syracusecomsports