Syracuse Orange: John Wildhack contract extension totally well deserved

John Wildhack will serve as the Syracuse Orange athletics director at least through mid-2025, and that’s a positive thing for the ‘Cuse.

The decision by university officials to extend the contract of Syracuse Orange Athletics Director John Wildhack until mid-2025 is a welcomed one, given what Wildhack has accomplished in recent years.

Wildhack, who graduated from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in 1980, began his stint as the ‘Cuse athletics director in July of 2016 – only several months after both the Orange men’s and women’s basketball squads reached the Final Four of their respective NCAA Tournaments.

Since beginning his tenure as the AD on the Hill, Syracuse has captured 23 conference championships (four team and 19 individual), as well as a pair of national titles, both courtesy of former track-and-field star Justyn Knight, according to a cuse.com announcement.

In 2018, Syracuse football returned to post-season competition when it beat West Virginia in the Camping World Bowl. The Orange finished that campaign at 10-3 and ranked No. 15 in the major polls.

Although the football team disappointed in 2019, Wildhack played a key role in extending the contract of head coach Dino Babers, who is faring well on the recruiting trail of late.

Speaking of recruiting, the Orange women’s basketball group is crushing things, and the ‘Cuse is primed for a deep March Madness run next spring.

On the men’s side of hoops, head coach Jim Boeheim led his guys to a surprising Sweet 16 run in 2018, and it doesn’t seem that Boeheim plans to retire anytime soon.

Syracuse Orange Athletics Director John Wildhack definitely warrants a contract extension through mid-2025.

While Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud says that Wildhack will remain the school’s athletics director for the next five years at a minimum, the financial terms of his extension did not get disclosed.

Wildhack came back to his alma mater after more than three decades in various leadership roles at ESPN. Under his watch in Central New York, in addition to their achievements on the field, Orange student-athletes are succeeding at an admirable rate in the classroom, too.

Moreover, Wildhack has overseen a $118 million investment by the university to renovate the Carrier Dome, as well as the creation of an in-house production unit launched in 2017 that broadcasts events and generates content on the ACC Network and its digital arm, ACC Network Extra.