Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim is out after 47 seasons

Just hours after the Orange lost 77-74 to Wake Forest on a buzzer-beating three-pointer in the ACC championship, Syracuse announced that assistant head coach Adrian Autry, who has been a member of the staff since 2011, would be promoted to replace 78-year-old Boeheim. general.

“I have no doubt that without Jim Boeheim, Syracuse basketball would not be the strong program it is today,” counselor Kent Severud said in a statement. “Jim has invested and dedicated most of his life to building this program, cultivating generations of student-athletes and representing his university with pride and distinction. I express my deep appreciation and gratitude for a graduate who exemplifies what it means to be Forever Orange.” “

After Wednesday’s loss, Boeheim hinted he would retire, but said it was up to the league to decide his future.

“Like I said from day one when I started here, the university hired me, and it’s their choice what they want to do,” Boehme said. “I always have the option to retire, but it’s their decision whether or not I train. It always has been.

“…I was fortunate to be able to train for so long.”

Boeheim later added, “I gave my retirement speech last week, and nobody picked it up.”

The timing of Syracuse’s announcement that Autry, a former player under Boeheim, will take over the program isn’t set until Wednesday, sources tell ESPN’s Pete Tamil.

Boeheim has an official coaching record of 1,015-441 over the course of his career – 101 wins being vacated for NCAA rule violations between 2004 and 2007 and 2010 to 2012 that resulted in penalties. Retired Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski holds the division record with 1,202 victories, with Boeheim ranking second with either.

He has taken Syracuse to the NCAA Tournament on 35 occasions and advanced to the Final Four on five of those trips – winning the national title in 2003. He has 58 official NCAA Tournament wins, which ranks fourth all-time.

“I was very lucky to be able to coach my college team, play and then become an assistant coach and then a head coach, and never have to leave Syracuse,” Boeheim said Wednesday. “It’s a great university. The city has embraced our team. I’m amazed we’ve been able to attract the fans we’ve been able to attract over the years.

“…I was incredibly lucky to keep that job. Mike Bree is glad he’s been at Notre Dame 23; he’s a puppy. I’ve had 47. I’ve coached my sons. Two years ago, we were in the Sweet 16. And last year, I had to Training my sons… I wanted to go back and train these guys, and that’s what I was able to do. The university didn’t offer me anything, either work or anything to do at university. That’s their choice.”

His 47 seasons at Syracuse trail only Jim Phelan, who coached Mount Saint Mary for 49 seasons between 1955 and 2008, in terms of longevity at a single school.

Boeheim, who had 23 players selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005. He has also been an assistant coach for three American basketball teams that have won Olympic gold medals.

Syracuse is awaiting potential postseason bids with a 17-15 record. Excluding seasons where wins ended due to penalties, this was the second-worst single-season winning percentage of his coaching career — ahead of only the 2021-22 team, which went 16-17.

Autry has long been the managerial choice for Boeheim’s successor, sources said, but the timing wasn’t decided until after Syracuse lost to Wake Forest.

Autry, a 1994 graduate, has been Syracuse’s top recruiter and recruiter since returning to his alma mater in 2011. He gathers strong ties to New York City and the Washington, D.C. area, and is also a connection to the program’s past.

He played in 121 games in his four seasons with Boheim, then spent more than a decade on the bench with his former coach.

“There have been very few more powerful influencing forces in my life than Syracuse University and Jim Boeheim. Both have played such important roles and without either of them, I’m sure I wouldn’t have had this incredible opportunity in front of me,” Autry said. “I have spent a lot of my time in the game of basketball learning from Jim and I am very grateful to him for preparing me to continue the winning tradition that is orange basketball.

“It’s hard to imagine a world without him on the bench, but together with the coaches, student-athletes, and fans, we will build on our decades of success as a winning program.”

Boeheim has been synonymous with Syracuse for over six decades. He was born in Lyon, in central New York, near Syracuse. He entered the school in 1962 as a walk-on, eventually becoming then-captain of the Oranges with Dave Bing.

In 1969, Boeheim was hired at Syracuse as a graduate assistant. And in 1976 he took over the position of artistic director of the program. He’s been her face ever since.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.