Syracuse Orange: In 2022, a crossroads moment for Syracuse athletics

It is difficult to remember a year quite like 2021 in the history of Syracuse Orange sports. With the basketball team finishing an abysmal 16-17 (the first losing season in 53 years) and the football team finishing at a disappointing 5-7, Syracuse suffered nearly unprecedented levels of failure. In fact, it was the first time since 1947 that both football and men’s basketball posted a losing season in the same year.

Unfortunately, the failures were not a blip on the radar of two programs that were otherwise having success during their respective athletic competitions. During the Dino Babers era, Syracuse football has gone an abysmal 29-43, including 11-24 over his past three seasons.

With 5 of Babers’ 6 seasons being losing campaigns, his job is almost certainly on the line in the 2022 season. Unfortunately, the schedule for that season includes nine opponents that won 6 or more games in 2021, and the Orange features a very youth-heavy roster which is not built ideally for a season where the coach’s job may be at stake.

On the basketball side, over the past eight seasons, Jim Boeheim has endured his worst ever stretch as the Syracuse basketball head coach. During that stretch, Syracuse has gone 155-111, a mediocre .583 winning percentage. Over that time Jim Boeheim has only managed three campaigns with 20 wins or more, with the five seasons below that 20 win mark dwarfing his combined two seasons under 20 wins prior to 2014.

The losing season has functioned as undeniable proof of a program that has lost its formerly elite stature. Whether recruiting, player development or something else is to blame, Jim Boeheim might soon find his job status in question if this slide continues. Many fans already question whether next year will be his final season.

This year is a crossroads moment for Syracuse Orange athletics.

This creates a situation for ‘Cuse athletics director John Wildhack which is hardly ideal: The prospect of potentially replacing the coaches of both of the university’s flagship programs in the same year. If this were to happen, it would also come after very recent replacements of the coaches for men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse and women’s basketball. The combined performance of those five coaches could be the deciding factor in whether the John Wildhack era of Syracuse Athletics is viewed as a success, or a failure.

None of this is to say that poor seasons are guaranteed for the football and basketball programs in 2022-23. It is entirely possible that a combination of freshmen, transfers and returnees bring Syracuse basketball back to prominence, and Syracuse football can build on the momentum of their defense and rushing attack to get back to a bowl game. There were scenarios in 2021-22 which could have led to both of them having far better seasons, but those scenarios did not come to fruition. I will certainly be rooting for those scenarios to unfold the whole way as I follow both teams next season.

That being said, I think a Syracuse Orange fan would be naive to not see the writing on the wall.