The NCAA sanctions that were released Friday dealt harsh punishments to Syracuse University men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim. In addition to Boeheim rightfully being held accountable, Director of Athletics Daryl Gross should also be punished.

The NCAA found Boeheim, “accountable for the violations that involved his student-athletes and staff,” in regard to academic integrity violations. In response to the NCAA report, Chancellor Kent Syverud asserted that the university strongly disagreed that “Coach Jim Boeheim has taken actions that justify a finding that he was responsible for the rules violations,” as the NCAA’s report stated.

This claim was a misstep on behalf of the university; SU should not absolve Boeheim of his misdeeds. The infractions uncovered by the NCAA investigation weren’t a one-time mistake; the debacle spans over a decade and dirties many hands. While it is possible that Boeheim was not responsible for every violation, his inability to properly oversee his staff and team are a failure on his part.

Prior to the sanctions, Boeheim was the second-winningest coach in Division I men’s basketball history, and as such he became a larger than life figure at SU. Now, with a mishap of this magnitude, Boeheim must be held liable for the team’s failures, not just its wins. Under NCAA sanctions, all the wins which ineligible players participated in will be vacated from Boeheim’s 966-win total. In addition, Boeheim will also be suspended for the first nine conference games in the 2015-16 season.

Boeheim released a statement Friday night expressing his disappointment that the NCAA ignored his efforts to build his program over the last 37 years, and instead focused on the “rogue and secretive actions” of two individuals no longer affiliated with the team.

The problems in the athletics department are not isolated to the men’s basketball team. The investigation found issues within multiple athletic programs. These high-level infractions fall under Gross’ domain as well and it is imbalanced that the NCAA sanctioned Boeheim and not Gross.

For over 10 years, it has been Gross’ duty to oversee the entire athletics department — something which he has clearly failed to do adequately given the infractions that were found. Gross also needs to be pressed with strict penalties — if not from the NCAA, then by the university itself.

The infractions discovered by the NCAA investigation represent an institutional failure by Syracuse University. It is only fair that SU, and all those responsible, now face the proper consequences.

Published on March 6, 2015 at 10:27 pm