Amid a Final Four run, just how firm is Jim Boeheim's 2018 retirement date?
A year ago, Syracuse men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim -- facing NCAA penalties and having missed the NCAA Tournament -- announced he’d retire at the end of the 2017-18 season.
Needing to serve a nine-game suspension at the start of 2015-16 and with assistant coach Mike Hopkins in line to replace him, Boeheim’s four-decade tenure as the face of Syracuse basketball seemed to be taking on a lame-duck feel -- right up until this year’s Orange became the first 10 seed to make the Final Four.
So could Syracuse’s surprise success and the fact Hopkins went 4-5 while Boeheim was taking his punishment early this season change Boeheim’s expiration date? New athletic director Mark Coyle answered that question for reporters Tuesday, via Syracuse.com:
"The plan before I was hired was that he would work through the three seasons," Coyle said, "so he has two more seasons left on his current contract."
So, when the contract expires in two years, could Boeheim be extended?
"No, my current understanding of the agreement is that when his contract expires, that's when the window expires," Coyle said.
Simple enough -- for now. But don’t be surprised if Coyle (and Boeheim) have to answer that question again if Boeheim wins his second NCAA tournament title at age 71.
