For the first time since Jim Boeheim’s retirement/Adrian Autry’s introductory press conference, John Wildhack spoke to the media in Syracuse Tuesday regarding a number of topics, notably Dino Babers’ contract/extension status, Boeheim’s new job, and NIL.
After reading the above tweet and hearing what Wildhack had to say about his head football coach’s contract, it can’t help but feel a bit dejected if you’re a Syracuse fan, and is an acknowledgment of the financial situation of the university, and the complacency of the athletics department.
With multiple years left on his deal, Babers would be costly to fire/buy out, and no one knows what the exact numbers on that would be. With the mediocrity at best of the football program over the majority of his years in Syracuse, a major 2023 is needed if he wants to keep the support of the fans, despite what his boss might say about his performance and job security.
With Boeheim, it was clear based on his post-Wake Forest press conference that he still wanted some sort of role within the university after his retirement, and those details are finally being revealed after what he said last week. The 47-year head coach of the basketball team, and creator of the program into the national name that it is, deserves whatever he wants, despite how poorly his final two seasons were.
In regards to name, image, and likeness in college athletics, Wildhack said “I think we’re in a better place today with NIL than we were 90 days ago.” Now, this is a good thing to hear as a Syracuse fan, but it’s still hard to compare the Orange to other schools that are paying players well into six figures for their athletic services.
Specifically, the case of Jesse Edwards was a stain on SU not being able to retain him for NIL-related reasons, but Wildhack claimed the Orange were not alone in that regard.
“Jesse Edwards is not unique to Syracuse,” the Athletic Director said. “This is going on all across the country … This is the world that we’re in right now. It’s the NIL world. It’s the transfer portal.”
Wildhack wants a “database” on all NIL deals, which seems rather unlikely, but you never know what new President Charlie Baker and the NCAA might come up with. As of right now, Syracuse is still lacking behind many of its contemporaries in that area, and has a lot of work to do to market itself to players as a place they can play high-level athletics, and be compensated properly for doing so.
There are still plenty of questions to be answered all around Wildhack’s athletic department, from football to softball, it does not matter the sport, this “state of the union” for Syracuse Athletics still left a lot unanswered, with not a lot of leads to figure it out.
