Boeheim to retire in three years; Gross out as Syracuse AD

Mar 18, 2015 - 8:47 PM Syracuse, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Syracuse men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim will retire in three years, the university said Wednesday.

In addition, athletic director Daryl Gross will leave his position immediately.

The decisions came less than two weeks after the NCAA announced penalties against the athletic department, most notably the basketball program, for violations that included academic misconduct, extra benefits, the failure to follow its drug testing policy and impermissible booster activity.

Boeheim, who will address the media on Thursday, was suspended for the first nine games of the 2015-16 ACC season as a penalty for failure to monitor the men's basketball program and failure to promote an atmosphere of compliance. The basketball program had scholarships reduced by a total of 12 -- three each over a four-year period -- and will vacate wins in which ineligible students participated.

The academic misconduct centered around a men's basketball player, believed to be Fab Melo, submitting a paper in a course he already passed in an effort to improve his course grade and restore NCAA eligibility. Gross helped start the procedure, which ended with a new paper prepared with assistance from two (now former) athletics employees, both of whom were aware their actions were improper and wrong.

Syracuse chancellor Kent Syverud made Wednesday's announcement in a letter to the university community posted on the school's website, adding that the university plans to appeal some of the penalties, including the vacation of wins and the reduction in scholarships.

"Coach Boeheim has assured me that he will respond thoughtfully and appropriately to the serious findings of the Infractions Committee Report," said Chancellor Syverud. "Coach Boeheim has also told me that he intends to retire as head coach in three years. His goal in making this decision and announcement now is to bring certainty to the team and program in the coming years, and enable and plan for a successful, longer-term transition in coaching leadership."

Syracuse will be eligible to participate in postseason play next year after the NCAA accepted the school's self-imposed penalty of no postseason this year. The Orange reportedly have a strong incoming recruiting class for basketball.

Boeheim, who first landed at Syracuse as a student in 1962, has been the head coach at his alma mater since the 1976-77 season. Without the vacation of wins, he has a record of 966-333 and owns the second-most victories in Division I men's history.

The Orange won the 2003 national championship and reached three other Final Fours during his Hall of Fame tenure. Syracuse lost the 1987 title game to Indiana and fell to Kentucky in the 1996 championship game before beating Kansas for the 2003 crown. The Orange lost to Michigan in the 2013 national semifinals.

Syracuse already had announced a successor for Boeheim, as long-time assistant Mike Hopkins had been chosen as the head coach-in-waiting.

Gross, who had been the athletic director since taking over for Jake Crouthamel in June 2005, will remain with the school as vice president and special assistant to the chancellor.

Senior associate athletic director Peter Sala has been named the interim AD with help from Syracuse football great Floyd Little, who has been a special assistant to the AD.