When it comes to Syracuse sports, 2015 has been bad. There’s no doubting that. But has this year been the worst in the school’s history? With sanctions, no NCAA Tournament, and no bowl game, there’s certainly a case to be made.
The Football Season
After the school’s second straight bowl win, things were looking up for Syracuse football. Two senior running backs and a growing and returning quarterback in Terrel Hunt; it was bowl or bust for second-year coach Scott Shafer. Four losses by the middle of October changed things. Terrel Hunt was out for the season with a fractured fibula, and those two running backs were underperforming. Going 1-5 the rest of the way, the Orange ended the season with a record of 3-9 and went only 1-7 in the ACC. The .250 win percentage was the worst since 2007, and left questions both on and off the field.
The Basketball Season
This year in Syracuse basketball was one of the worst in the school’s history. On the court, the team was less than extraordinary. An 18-13 record gave the team its worst record since the 1981-82 season. The team’s highest rank in the Top 25 polls was #23 in the preseason, the worst since 1981-82 again. The team didn’t play in the NCAA Tournament, which was the first time that’s happened since 1993 (that is if you don’t count the wins taken away by the NCAA’s sanctions). Speaking of which, the year ended on the sourest of notes. The NCAA put sanctions on Syracuse which will have an effect on the team for years to come, and Jim Boeheim lost 3 players to a combination of transfers and the NBA.
This year was without a doubt a bad year for Syracuse sports, and maybe even the worst in the history of the school. The good news? It can only get better from here.
Posted: Nathan Dickinson
