ezarett's Blog

ACC moves championship games out of North Carolina

By E.Jay Zarett
September 14, 2016 - 5:28 pm
Conference is third major organization to shift neutral site sporting events out of the state

More neutral site sporting events were pulled out of North Carolina on Wednesday afternoon.

The ACC announced that all eight neutral site conference championship games scheduled to be hosted in the state of North Carolina during the 2016-17 academic year will be relocated.

The most notable championship that will be moved is the conference’s football finale, which was set to be hosted in Charlotte.

The announcement was in response to the state’s controversial House Bill Two (HB2), which among other things, states that those who identify as transgender must use restrooms associated with the gender on their birth certificate.

“The ACC Council of Presidents made it clear that the core values of this league are of the utmost importance, and the opposition to any form of discrimination is paramount,” ACC president John Swofford said in a statement released to the media. “Today’s decision is one of principle, and while this decision is the right one, we recognize there will be individuals and communities that are supportive of our values as well as our championship sites that will be negatively affected.”

Both SU Chancellor Kent Syverud and Director of Athletics John Wildhack released statements supporting the ACC’s decision.

“Diversity and inclusion are hallmarks at Syracuse University and within Syracuse Athletics,” Wildhack’s statement said.

The ACC was the third major organization to move major sporting events out of the state in protest of HB2. In July, the NBA announced that it was moving the league’s 2017 all-star game out of Charlotte, and just two days ago the NCAA pulled seven national championship events out of the state.

 Earlier this year, SUNY Albany cancelled a non-conference game scheduled for the 2016-17 season at Duke because of New York State’s objections to HB2.

“How many companies and sports organizations have to leave NC before the Governor & NCGA leadership wake up to the 21st Century & repeal HB2?” Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts wrote in a tweet.

All new locations for the championship games will be announced by the conference office, the ACC’s statement said. Championships that are hosted on campus will be allowed to be played in the state if the situation arises.

Syracuse men's basketball schedule for 2016-17 officially released

By E.Jay Zarett
September 12, 2016 - 3:35 pm
SU will take on Georgetown, Virginia and Duke in the Carrier Dome

The ACC released its men’s basketball schedule for the upcoming season on Monday afternoon, officially finalizing Syracuse’s 2016-17 slate of games.

Syracuse will open the season with two exhibition contests followed by 13 consecutive non-conference games.The Orange will take on former Big East rivals Georgetown and St. John’s in the Carrier Dome on Dec. 17 and 21, respectively, and UCONN at Madison Square Garden Dec. 5.  Prior to the match-up with Georgetown, SU will honor former star guard Pearl Washington, who passed away in April.

The Orange will open ACC play on New Year’s Day at Boston College and then return home to take on Miami Jan. 4 and Pittsburgh three days later. Other notable home ACC match-ups include Virginia on Feb. 4, Louisville on Feb. 13 and Duke on Feb. 22. Duke and Syracuse have faced-off in the Carrier Dome two previous times, with both games setting on-campus NCAA college basketball attendance records. 

Andrew White III commits to Syracuse men's basketball

By E.Jay Zarett
August 28, 2016 - 3:38 pm
Former Nebraska guard will be eligible to compete in 2016-17 for Syracuse

Former Nebraska guard Andrew White III committed to the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team on Sunday afternoon.

White announced his decision through his Twitter account, where he posted a photo of himself in a Syracuse T-shirt with the caption "Excited to join Syracuse Basketball."

As a graduate transfer, White will complete his last year of eligibility at Syracuse. He will not have to redshirt and should be able to play immediately for the Orange.

White began his college career at Kansas, where he played in 44 games over two seasons before transferring to Nebraska. While at Nebraska, he averaged 16.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game while shooting 48.1 percent from the field.

White was one of the best 3-pointer shooters in the Big Ten last season. He ranked 12th in the conference in 3-point shooting percent during 2015-16, connecting on 41.2 percent of his shots from behind the arc.

White delivered double-figure scoring performances in 28 of the 34 games he played in last season and reached the 30-point mark twice, including a 35-point performance in a victory over Penn State.