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Syracuse, N.Y. • Syracuse basketball coach 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 says 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.
When Boeheim turned 70 in November, wife Juli asked him if he was OK with coaching as a septuagenarian and all that goes with it.
"I just think one day you're going to have to slow down," Juli said. "He doesn't want to, number one, and he feels better than he ever has."
There's been a change of heart. 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.
Athletic director Daryl Gross is also stepping aside, immediately taking another marketing position with the school. Pete Sala will serve as interim athletic director.
Boeheim, who scheduled a news conference for Thursday, has had problems before. The NCAA banned the Orange from the 1993 NCAA Tournament for recruiting violations.
Longtime assistant coach Mike Hopkins is in line to succeed Boeheim.
The announcement of the changes comes less than two weeks after the season finale. At a postseason banquet the day after the Orange lost at North Carolina State to finish with a record of 18-13, Boeheim, the second-winningest coach in Division I history with 966 victories, told an audience of around 700 fans that he wasn't about to leave as basketball coach.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said.