NCAA Penalties For Syracuse Men’s Basketball Team

On Friday the NCAA penalized the University of Syracuse Men’s Basketball team and suspended Head Coach Jim Boeheim after an investigation. The NCCA found that the team’s violations included academic misconduct, players receiving extra benefits, and not following the drug testing policy. For all this they received strict penalties.

These violations all date back to 2001. The NCCA seized 108 wins from Jim Boehiem. This will drop Boeheim’s career wins from 966 to 858. He was second on the all-time wins list and now he will drop all the way to sixth. However, Syracuse won’t be forced to forfeit its’ 2003 National Championship. Boeheim’s is suspended for the 1^st nine ACC games next year. In addition, Syracuse will lose 12 scholarships and will be placed on a five-year probation period. It will last from March 2015 to March 2020.

This is a harsh punishment but it’s the right one. The team allegedly used players who were ineligible. Athletes may have cheated on tests or had someone do their homework. They also might have received extra money from boosters, which is not allowed.

Syracuse did self-impose a postseason ban this year. They probably knew they had these infractions coming. What they didn’t know was how severe the penalties would be.

Jim Boeheim will be appealing the decision to suspend him for the 1^st nine games of the ACC schedule next year. He doesn’t seem to understand that he is the head of the program. What happened with his team is under his watch. He has to know what is taking place with his athletes. Boehiem should know if the rules of the NCAA are being followed. He should be punished and the NCAA shouldn’t lift the suspension.

The NCAA made the right choice. This was a Boeheim problem. The NCAA made it clear that Boeheim is the head of the basketball program. He is the person who is responsible for overseeing his athletes. Hopefully, Boehiem will learn from this experience.

What should the punishment have been for Syracuse?