Syracuse Orange Athletics is in the midst of substantial change with current Athletic Director John Wildhack set to retire in July, and new reporting suggests fans might know who the next leader of SUA could be announced as soon as next week.
Matt Norlander of CBS Sports published a piece Monday on which men’s college basketball power conference jobs could soon be open, and Syracuse is notably listed in this story. In his reporting on what comes next for Syracuse men’s basketball, Norlander had this line
which really stands out and provides a potential date for when the new AD hire could be selected.
“Most everyone tasked with tracking the job market in college basketball expects this one to come open not just because SU again failed to meet program expectations, but a change in athletic director (with the hire to be determined before March 10, I’m told) sparking all more the reason to begin anew,” Norlander wrote.
So far there is no indication that the new AD would be made official before the 10th, but for those worrying that the process would delay other moves, this would indicate that Syracuse is closing in on a final decision in the coming days.
Syracuse University will have plenty of change in leadership going forward. In addition to Wildhack, Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud will also be stepping down as the chancellor in June. Syverud last week said an announcement for the next chancellor would be made “next month,” meaning in March.
In summary, fans can likely expect these hires to all be announced in the coming weeks, most realistically starting with the new chancellor and AD in some order.
Something else to monitor: March 10 happens to be the first day of the 2026 ACC Tournament. Syracuse men’s basketball is currently 15-14 overall and 6-10 against the conference, good for 13th in the ACC standings. Syracuse would be opening play on the 10th against an opponent to be determined.
That detail is mainly notable because (memorably) the announcement of Jim Boeheim departing and Adrian Autry taking over as head coach came right after Syracuse lost to Wake Forest in the 2022 ACC Tournament. It’s a detail to keep in mind considering Autry’s future.
As always, we’ll keep you updated as we learn more on what comes next for Syracuse Athletics.
