Syracuse basketball will not be playing in the postseason this year as part of a self-imposed ban, the school announced on Wednesday afternoon.
“The University initiated the case when it self-reported potential violations within the Athletics Department to the NCAA in 2007,” according to the release. “Much of the conduct involved in the case occurred long ago and none occurred after 2012. No current student-athlete is involved. In addition, beginning in 2007, the University took a series of actions to reform and strengthen existing policies and procedures, implement a series of best practices, and realign and improve a range of student-athlete support services.”
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Syracuse is in the midst of one of its worst seasons in recent memory. The Orange is 15-7 overall and was in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
Now, the team will not participate in any postseason, including the ACC Tournament.
“I am very disappointed that our basketball team will miss the opportunity to play in the post-season this year,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said in a release. “Senior Rakeem Christmas has been an outstanding member of the team for the past four years. However, I supported this decision and I believe the University is doing the right thing by acknowledging that past mistakes occurred. Our players have faced adversity and challenges before. I know they will rise to this challenge by keeping our program strong and continuing to make our University proud.”
The NCAA will now need to decide what, if anything, it will add to the punishment. The infractions committee has a number of tools at its disposal, including further post-season bans, vacating wins, or reducing scholarships.
“We are all tremendously disappointed that we are going to miss out on playing in the postseason based on issues that do not involve us,” said captains Rakeem Christmas, Trevor Cooney and Michael Gbinije in a statement. “However, we support our school and this won’t change how hard we will continue to work in practice and in game.”
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