Longtime college administrator and former Pittsburgh hoops player Dr. Charles Small is being hired by Syracuse University as SU's new deputy athletics director and chief strategy officer, according to a post on X from ESPN's Pete Thamel.
Small will also serve as the sport administrator for Syracuse men's basketball, overseeing that program as he has at other schools such as Big Ten Conference member Washington and Big 12 Conference squad Iowa State.
Source: Syracuse is hiring Charles Small from Washington as the school’s new Deputy AD/Chief Strategy Officer. He comes from Washington and will be Syracuse men’s basketball sport administrator, a job he did at Iowa State under TJ Otzelberger and at Washington. pic.twitter.com/f5x9iSSXU8
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) May 7, 2026
Currently, Small is the senior associate athletic director for sport administration at Washington, a post he began in late August of 2024. His role at SU "will also include overseeing the (athletics) department’s strategic planning and sports administration," Thamel wrote.
Small was a four-year member of Pitt men's basketball, and during his career with the Panthers, Pittsburgh went to four NCAA Tournaments and reached the Sweet 16 twice. We won't hold it against Charles that he played for one of the Orange's long-time rivals back in the day!
SU is bringing on board Dr. Charles Small to oversee Syracuse men's basketball.
Small, at Washington, has been responsible for the oversight of various staff initiatives and strategic projects while also serving as the sport administrator for the Huskies men's basketball program.
Former longtime Orange hoops assistant Mike Hopkins was Washington's head coach from 2017 until 2024, but Small's time with the Huskies didn't overlap with Hopkins.
Before Washington, Small was the athletics director at Valparaiso for two years. Small previously spent four years at Iowa State, serving as the sport administrator for men's basketball and wrestling. He's also been an athletics administrator at Arkansas and the University of New Orleans.
It's been a whirlwind past two months for both Syracuse Athletics and the SU men's basketball team. In March, J. Michael Haynie was appointed the school's next chancellor, while Toledo athletics director Bryan Blair was named to replace John Wildhack as the new 'Cuse athletics director.
Additionally, in March, legendary former Orange guard Gerry McNamara was hired as the new head coach of Syracuse basketball. Since then, he's assembled his assistant coaching staff, which also includes a new general manager.
Last month, word broke via Syracuse.com that two senior members of Syracuse Athletics, Torrey Ball and Kirsten Elleby, were moving on from their positions. The Hall of Famer, Jim Boeheim, will remain in his role as special assistant to the SU director of athletics for another year, while former Syracuse basketball director of operations Peter Corasaniti has been named to the newly created role of associate athletics director of men's basketball and operations at SU.
Add us as a preferred source on Google