Syracuse University announced Wednesday that it has banned its men’s basketball team from postseason this year as part of its case pending before the NCAA Committee on Infractions.
The school initiated the case when it self-reported potential athletic department violations to the NCAA in 2007. School officials said Wednesday that none of the conduct occurred after 2012 and no current student-athlete is involved.
Additional Images
The ban includes the ACC tournament. After Syracuse’s announcement, the conference released an updated bracket for a tournament shortened by one game.
Coach Jim Boeheim says he’s disappointed, especially for senior Rakeem Christmas, but supports the decision.
“I believe the university is doing the right thing by acknowledging that past mistakes occurred,” Boeheim said in a prepared statement.
In 2012, Syracuse declared former center Fab Melo ineligible for the NCAA tournament days before it started. Melo also missed three Big East games during the season because of an academic issue. Early in the 2012-13 season, former forward James Southerland sat out six games for an academic issue but helped lead the Orange to the Final Four.
In March 2012, school officials said that the university had self-reported possible violations of its internal drug policy by former members of the team, and that the NCAA was investigating. No members of that team were involved.
The school also acknowledged that the NCAA had inquired into old allegations that players were allowed to practice and play despite being in violation of the school’s drug policy.
“We are fully supportive of Syracuse and its decision to self-impose sanctions by removing themselves from any men’s basketball postseason opportunities,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford.
The probe also involves issues with football. Syracuse completed a two-day hearing before the Committee on Infractions in October, and among those who attended were Boeheim and football coach Scott Shafer.
“While this is a tough decision for the university and its students, faculty, staff and fans, it helps to close this particular chapter and allows us to focus on the future,” said newly appointed faculty athletics representative Rick Burton.
Plagued by injuries, Syracuse has struggled to a 15-7 mark this season and was a long shot to make the NCAA tournament or NIT. Still, the announcement was difficult for the players to accept.
“We are all tremendously disappointed that we are going to miss out on playing in the postseason based on issues that do not involve us,” said Christmas, Trevor Cooney and Michael Gbinije in a joint statement.
While the Orange have only eight scholarship players available to play, Boeheim has the top recruiting class in his 39 years as head coach inked for next year and big things are expected as he nears 1,000 career victories. If the NCAA agrees that a one-year postseason ban is sufficient, the new recruits won’t be affected.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.