Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim will not be returning to coach Syracuse after a 47-year tenure. The school announced the news early Wednesday (March 8) morning. Associate head coach Adrian Autry will take over head-coaching duties.
The decision comes the same day the Orange got knocked out of the ACC Tournament’s second round in a 77-74 loss to Wake Forest,that ended on a Daivien Williamson three-pointer with less than a second remaining.
According to reports, the timing of announcing Autry, a former player under Boeheim and a 12-year assistant at Syracuse, as the new head coach wasn’t decided until Wednesday.
A legendary coaching tenure that turned this program into a perennial national power comes to a close after 47 years.
📰 https://t.co/sI3xKt44N7 pic.twitter.com/NHn9Z47Uw8
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) March 8, 2023
It’s not clear whether the announcement is a retirement or a firing, but after Wednesday’s loss Boeheim told reporters that he gave his retirement speech at last Saturday’s regular-season finale and that all decisions about his future would be made by the school.
“As I’ve said from day one when I started working here, the university hired me, and it’s their choice what they want to do,” Boeheim said. “I always have the choice of retirement, but it’s their decision as to whether I coach or not. It always has been.”
Boeheim has spent his entire career at Syracuse, trailing only Jim Phelan’s 49 seasons at Mount St. Mary’s for the most years at the helm of one school. His 1,015 official wins in his career ranks second all-time behind Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, even though 101 of those wins were vacated because of NCAA rules violations between 2004 to 2007 and 2010 to 2012 that resulted in sanctions. He’s made the NCAA Tournament 35 of the 47 years he’s been at Syracuse, and his 58 tournament wins ranks fourth all-time.
Jim Boeheim: "I've been very lucky to coach this long. I think everyone missed my retirement speech last week. Nobody picked up on it… it's up to the University" pic.twitter.com/XbnTV1Zsuj
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 8, 2023
Boeheim first came to the Orange as a walk-on in 1963, eventually becoming an assistant and then the head coach in 1976. He guided Syracuse through their entire lifespan in the Big East, winning Coach of the Year four times in the conference and the Naismith Coach of the Year in 2010.
“I’ve been very lucky to be able to coach my college team, to play and then be an assistant coach and then a head coach, never having to leave Syracuse,” Boeheim said Wednesday. “It’s a great university. The city has embraced our team. I am amazed that we’ve been able to draw the fans that we’ve been able to draw over the years.”
Long-known for his patented zone defense, Boeheim delivered Syracuse to the promised land after winning a national championship in 2003 with star freshman Carmelo Anthony. He went to five Final Fours with the Orange and was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005.
Despite his reverence, the 78-year-old Boeheim’s Orange have struggled this season, likely to miss the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years. The school has had double-digit losses each of the past seven seasons, and Wednesday’s loss to Wake Forest seemed to be the nail in the coffin.
What an incredible career from Jim Boeheim 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZEqx5f9j24
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 8, 2023
Boeheim becomes the fourth Hall of Fame coach to leave the Division I ranks in the last three seasons, joining Krzyzewski, North Carolina’s Roy Williams and Villanova’s Jay Wright. Together, the four coaches won 11 national championships.
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