With John Wildhack retiring, Syracuse is going through a seismic leadership reset

SU alum and former long-time ESPN executive John Wildhack, who for the past 10 years has served as Syracuse University's athletics director, will retire on July 1, he announced on Wednesday afternoon.

Also leaving by July 1 is Syracuse University's chancellor, Kent Syverud, who will become the next president at the University of Michigan. These two developments mean there will be a significant leadership reset at Syracuse University, at a time when a new head coach in Syracuse men's basketball could be forthcoming soon.

During his tenure, Wildhack oversaw massive investments in SU athletics facilities, including the renamed JMA Wireless Dome and the evolution of the John A. Lally Athletics Complex, which supports all 20 'Cuse sports teams.

Wildhack, in early December of 2023, hired former Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown as the new head coach of Syracuse football. The Orange went 10-3 in his first season, although the team was a disappointing 3-9 in the 2025 campaign, with injuries playing a huge factor. Still, the future looks bright for Syracuse football.

As for Syracuse basketball, in March of 2023, SU Athletics fumbled the retirement announcement of Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim. Regardless, Boeheim had a storied career on the Hill. Associate head coach Adrian Autry was elevated to head coach, and unfortunately, his three-year run at the Orange's helm hasn't worked out all that well.

In March of 2022, former Syracuse women's basketball All-American Felisha Legette-Jack took over that program, and the Orange is in the midst of a special 2025-26 season. Legette-Jack has called on the greater community for financial assistance to help fund her team.

A heartfelt thank you to Syracuse Orange athletics director John Wildhack.

Under Wildhack's guidance, Syracuse has posted its highest Academic Progress Rate ("APR") scores since tracking of this began. Last May, he was appointed by the Atlantic Coast Conference to the NCAA Division I men's basketball committee. He has also served as chair of the ACC's athletics directors.

In recent years, with Wildhack as SU's athletics director, the landscape in college sports has dramatically changed. There has been ongoing conference realignment, including the ACC adding California, SMU and Stanford.

The NCAA got rid of its policy where players transferring would have to sit out a year, leading to an explosion of the transfer portal. Beginning with the 2025-26 sports season, due to the multi-billion-dollar House antitrust settlement, schools can pay their athletes directly in revenue-sharing, and that supplements third-party name, image and likeness ("NIL") deals.

Additionally, there are a lot of legal issues surrounding athletes' collegiate eligibility. What the future holds for the NCAA is up in the air, while lawmakers also discuss college sports' next iteration. College players, at some point, could potentially be deemed employees of their schools, with collective bargaining, buyouts and other measures put in place.

For 2025-26, Syracuse Athletics has said it would share the maximum amount allowed by the NCAA, approximately $20.5 million, with its athletes. Roughly a year ago, SU Athletics announced a three-year, $50 million fundraising campaign to assist with the retention and attraction of athletes.

There is a third-party NIL collective supporting Syracuse football players, however, with the closing of Orange United last fall, it's unclear what SU's third-party NIL strategy is for other sports, including men's and women's basketball. Wildhack has stressed the importance of third-party NIL deals moving forward to supplement direct revenue-sharing.

With Wildhack retiring and Syverud moving on to Michigan, this is a pivotal stretch for Syracuse Athletics and SU's leadership, particularly given the current landscape in college sports. Plus, if Autry is let go after the 2025-26 season, who will make the decision regarding the hiring of his replacement?

The Orange's chancellor and athletics director are both in lame-duck positions, so to speak, and this is a weird time for Syracuse. Wednesday's press release via cuse.com noted, "Details about the search to identify Wildhack's successor are forthcoming."