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NCAA upholds suspension of SU coach Jim Boeheim; suspension to start immediately

Ryan Delaney
/
WRVO
Syracuse University men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim. (file photo)

The NCAA Thursday denied Syracuse University basketball coach Jim Boeheim's appeal of a nine-game suspension, but Boeheim will begin serving the suspension immediately. 

As part of sanctions handed down by the NCAA earlier this year for rules violations, Boeheim was suspended for the first nine ACC Conference games of the season. Boeheim appealed the suspension in March. The NCAA upheld the suspension, but Boeheim must begin serving the suspension immediately, starting with Syracuse's game against Georgetown this Saturday. That means Boeheim will miss six non-conference games and three conference games.

During the suspension, Boeheim cannot have any contact with players or coaches, cannot travel with the team and cannot attend any practices. Associate head coach Mike Hopkins will coach the team during Boeheim's suspension.  

Boeheim's first game back will be January 9 at the Carrier Dome against North Carolina. 

Full statement from Kevin Quinn, senior vice president for public affairs at Syracuse University.

The Appeals Committee determined that the NCAA Committee on Infractions ‘abused its discretion’ by directing the suspension be served during conference play, because Coach Boeheim was not directly involved in the underlying violations of the case. The Appeals Committee determined the nine-game suspension may apply to non-conference games and be served immediately. The University is pleased the Appeals Committee recognized that the initial sanction imposed on Coach Boeheim was too harsh. Nevertheless, we supported Coach Boeheim’s argument made during his hearing that any nine game suspension would be too severe based on previous cases, and his lack of involvement in the underlying conduct, which the Appeals Committee recognized.

Jason has served as WRVO's news director in some capacity since August 2017. As news director, Jason produces hourly newscasts, and helps direct local news coverage and special programming. Before that, Jason hosted Morning Edition on WRVO from 2009-2019. Jason came to WRVO in January of 2008 as a producer/reporter. Before that, he spent two years as an anchor/reporter at WSYR Radio in Syracuse.