The Syracuse Orange have reportedly hired Bryan B. Blair as its new Athletic Director. Ross Dellenger from Yahoo Sports first reported the news on Wednesday afternoon.
Syracuse alum and ESPN reporter Pete Thamel confirmed the report and both reporters say the announcement is pending approval from the Board of Trustees.
Blair has been Toledo’s Athletic Director since 2022. He’ll be the 12th Syracuse Athletic Director. Blair takes over for John Wildhack, who announced his retirement in February.
Blair brings NIL experience, revenue generation skills and championship pedigree to the Orange. Under Blair, Toledo was the first school in the MAC with an NIL collective. He hired a full-time executive to lead NIL strategy.
Blair also led major fundraising efforts at Toledo, securing the second largest cash gift in program history. Toledo set a new fundraising record as well during the 2024-25 season under Blair’s leadership. He also doubled fundraising as Deputy AD and Chief Operating Officer at Washington State, his previous school before Toledo.
Blair is a former college athlete. He was a defensive lineman at Wofford University. He interned with the NCAA for a year before working in college athletics in various positions since 2011 at Rice and South Carolina.
Toledo made Blair the youngest athletic director in the FBS at the time of his hire in 2022. During his tenure, along with his fundraising and NIL efforts, Toledo won 13 MAC Championships. His success earned him a spot on the Sports Business Journal Forty Under 40 list in 2024.
Blair takes over for Wildhack, who had been Syracuse’s Athletic Director since 2016. Wildhack, a Newhouse alum, returned to Syracuse after serving as an executive for ESPN. He is still operating as the Orange’s Athletic Director until July 1 of this year.
Blair’s hire is the second significant university hire of the month. Syracuse hired Mike Haynie as the 13th chancellor of the school earlier in March. He officially starts on July 1 after Kent Syverud leaves to become the President of the University of Michigan.
(Ed. Note: no matter who is named MBB HC, we’ve got The Killer B’s- Bryan Blair and Ferocious Fran Brown)
What do you thnk of this hire?
