Syracuse Basketball: Total nonsense Jim Boeheim won’t get 101 wins back

Collegiate athletics is entering a vast new era, with name, image and likeness permitted, a uniform one-time transfer policy and the potential of further conference realignment, but it doesn’t appear that Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim will get his 101 vacated victories back.

It’s utterly ridiculous, in my humble opinion, and I bet that the bevy of Orange fanatics will agree with me here.

In a recent article by The Associated Press on former Southern California star running back Reggie Bush, the NCAA said in a statement that “Previous penalties, including those that are several years old, will not be re-evaluated or reconsidered based on the recent changes to NIL rules.”

As most ‘Cuse fans know, Boeheim was docked 101 wins by the NCAA, as well as other penalties including recruiting limitations for several years, after a long investigation found that the Syracuse basketball program violated certain NCAA rules for a duration of multiple years.

Syracuse basketball boss Jim Boeheim won’t get his wins back, and it’s absurd.

I fully acknowledge that I’m an Orange homer. And, yes, the ‘Cuse hoops team did break NCAA rules. But the punishment, from my perspective, didn’t align with the rules that were broken.

By extension, the sanctions and vacated wins handed down by the NCAA to Syracuse basketball have seemed overly harsh as compared to infractions cases involving other college teams in recent years.

Here’s my take. The games where the Orange played, and won, using an ineligible player were still played, even though an ineligible player competed. The games occurred.

Moreover, and I’ve said this for many, many years, the NCAA took away Boeheim’s 101 victories, yet the 101 losses that he handed his opponents continue to exist.

If these foes still have their losses, then the games were played, and therefore I adamantly believe that Boeheim and the ‘Cuse should have their wins restored.

Vacating wins is ludicrous, and I would argue the same way if another group besides Syracuse basketball was in the same situation. That applies to Georgetown, Duke, Richmond, Vermont, Butler, Michigan, Ohio State – you get the idea.

It’s really simple to me. The NCAA is a hypocritical governing body that lacks common sense. I truly wish and hope that the NCAA withers away in the near future.

A t-shirt was recently crafted and is available for purchase regarding Boeheim receiving his 101 conquests back. Do I have one? You bet I do.