Before the season began, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim had 966 victories—No. 2 on the all-time list—and was poised to begin a well-publicized march to 1,000. Scratch that now: The NCAA today docked 108 of his wins, knocking him back to No. 6 on this list, and imposed a slew of other penalties on the university, reports the Syracuse-Post Standard. “Over the course of a decade, Syracuse University did not control and monitor its athletics programs, and its head men’s basketball coach failed to monitor his program," says the NCAA. The infractions including everything from drug-testing to academics. The league suspended Boeheim for nine games and is making the team forfeit 12 scholarships in the coming years. The university is considering an appeal.
The Washington Post has some specifics, including:
- Two staff members on the team, including a receptionist, did coursework for a player in 2012 so he could be declared eligible to play. From 2010-12, a team tutor and that same receptionist (who wasn't a receptionist yet) “made revisions, created or wrote assignments” for three players, says the NCAA.
- Players who tested positive for drugs were allowed to play, in violation of the school's own policy.
- Basketball staffers encouraged a booster to give $8,000 to two basketball and three football players after they volunteered at the YMCA.
Weirdly, the
New York Times had an interesting feature today about how a die-hard fan who happens to be deaf has been reading Boeheim's lips during games and
tweeting the results. (More
Jim Boeheim stories.)