Show your Syracuse spirit! Students are invited to enter the 2026 Football T-Shirt Design Contest. Submit your design today for a chance to see it featured next season.

The winning designer will receive a gift basket from The Campus Store, Syracuse Auxiliary Services and Syracuse Athletics, filled with merchandise, gift cards and more.

Creative Brief: The Campus Store is looking for a dynamic, athletic design for a shirt that carries the bold spirit of our Syracuse community. The design should highlight staple elements of the Syracuse community that make us who we are, such as notable buildings and traditions, with a tie to the Syracuse football team. Keep in mind that the design will be printed on a shirt and should be easily printable in a maximum of two colors.

The entry must be the original work of the contestant and must not include or derive from preexisting or third-party designs or copyrighted images. The entry may not depict inappropriate images or words and cannot include a recognizable likeness to any person unless given written approval.

How to Enter: Submit your design as a vector file to contests@syr.edu. The file name should include your first and last name and be 25 MB or smaller. Deadline to enter is May 1, 2026. The winner will be notified on May 7.

With any additional questions, email John Cusick, general manager of the Syracuse University Campus Store. Contest rules are .

A new documentary exploring the history of and the role of faith across the Syracuse University community premiered this week on Fox Nation.

“” tells the story of Hendricks as the spiritual heart of campus, home to five world religions and 16 chaplains serving a diverse student body. The 25-minute film is hosted by Hall, a foreign affairs correspondent for Fox.

In the film, Chancellor Kent Syverud reflects on how faith at Syracuse extends well beyond the building itself. “It’s not the building,” he said. “This is a community, and it’s been a booming, vibrant community for all faiths, and that’s one of the reasons why we’ve had a solid community experience in recent years when many universities have been torn apart.”

Former Hendricks Dean Brian Konkol spoke with Hall about the chapel’s unique role as both a sacred space and a hub for campus life, from major performances and events to People’s Place coffee shop and the Coach Mac Food Pantry.

Faith, Leadership and Athletics

The documentary also captures the intersection of faith and athletics. Hall interviewed football coach Fran Brown and women’s basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack about their personal faith journeys and how those experiences shape their leadership on and off the field. Athletics Chaplain William Payne discussed his work supporting student-athletes as they navigate the demands of academics and competition.

The film also turns to one of the most solemn chapters in the University’s history. The University’s connection to the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, is woven into the film. The 1988 tragedy claimed the lives of 35 Syracuse University students, one of the most devastating losses in the University’s history. The Fox team visited the Remembrance Wall on campus to honor their memory.

Visually, the documentary draws on a range of campus scenes: students studying outside on sunny days, the football team walking across the Quad on game days, candlelight vigils outside Hendricks, chaplains leading services and Otto’s Army rallying inside the JMA Wireless Dome.

In addition to the feature documentary, Fox Nation produced a on the renovated and expanded St. Thomas More Chapel and Syracuse University Catholic Center, which reopened in 2025. The crew also visited the .

Names on the Wall

Another stop on campus carried personal significance for Hall. At the , Hall visited a memorial wall honoring more than 2,500 journalists killed in the line of duty. While covering the war in Ukraine, he was severely injured in a missile attack that killed two of his colleagues. He lost a leg, part of his other foot, an eye and the use of one hand, and later documented his recovery in his books “” and “.” During his visit to the wall, he saw the names of his colleagues, photojournalist and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova, etched into the memorial.

The Newhouse connection runs deeper still for the production. Fox team members included alumni Tania Joseph ’18, a Newhouse graduate in broadcast and digital journalism, and Jayson Jones ’19, who earned a master’s degree in communications from Newhouse.

“” marks the series’ inaugural season. Alongside the Hendricks episode, the series features St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans and the Brigade of Midshipmen Chapel at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The documentary is available to stream with a paid Fox Nation subscription.

When Gerry McNamara ’06 walked into the Dome the first time as a highly touted basketball recruit, he knew Syracuse University was the right place to play basketball and win championships.

Twenty-six years later, McNamara has a similar vision, only this time, McNamara is tasked with returning men’s basketball to national prominence as the program’s ninth head coach.

“Anybody that knows me knows why I’m here. I’m here to win. It’s who I am and it’s who I will always be,” McNamara said to more than 2,000 Orange fans who packed Miron Victory Court Monday afternoon for his introductory press conference.

Among those who offered remarks were Chancellor-elect J. Michael Haynie, incoming Director of Athletics Bryan Blair and Director of Athletics John Wildhack ’80, who said McNamara was the perfect candidate because he “epitomizes what Syracuse basketball is [all about].”

“Gerry’s ready for this. We didn’t choose Gerry because he’s an alum, or his number 3 hangs from the rafters in the JMA Wireless Dome,” Wildhack said. “He’s the right person at the right time to lead our program.”

Recognizing that “Syracuse basketball is embedded in the soul of this University,” Chancellor-elect Haynie echoed Wildhack’s sentiment, welcoming McNamara “back where he belongs, back in Orange.”

“What stood out about Gerry wasn’t just his resume, which is impressive. It wasn’t just the results, though they speak for themselves,” Haynie said. “Every person who worked with Gerry, every reference that we talked to said the same thing. They said he makes people better. He holds them to a high standard. He cares about them as people, not just as athletes. That he’s the kind of leader that we would want for our student-athletes.”

McNamara expressed gratitude to return to the place where he starred for four years.

“I can’t even tell you how honored, how blessed I am for this moment to be here. It really is kind of a dream come true for us,” said McNamara, who helped the Orange win the 2003 men’s basketball national championship.

It’s a dream McNamara wasn’t sure he’d ever get after leaving Syracuse in March of 2024. After 14 seasons as an assistant coach and one season as associate head coach, McNamara took over as Siena University’s head men’s basketball coach.

But following two successful seasons, including guiding the Saints into the 2026 NCAA Division I tournament for the first time in 16 years, McNamara is back with the Orange.

“During the four-year stretch of my [undergraduate] experience, my love grew for the people of this city, for the University that gave me the opportunity to showcase my gifts on the biggest stage,” said McNamara.

Get to know McNamara and his message for the Orange community.

Winning Is in G-Mac’s DNA

McNamara’s playing days at Syracuse were defined by wins. Not only did the Orange win the national title in 2003, Syracuse made the NCAA tournament in four consecutive seasons, compiling a 103-32 overall record with two Big East postseason championships.

Winning also matters to Bryan Blair, the Orange’s new director of athletics who was tasked with hiring a new basketball coach. After an initial phone conversation about the job, McNamara sat down for a face-to-face conversation with Blair, who leaned in close, looked him in the eyes and said “I want to win. No matter what, I want to win.”

“That statement from Bryan, for me, was where this went from being like an interview to motivationally aligned,” McNamara said. “We’re lockstep: same mentality, same goals, same direction.”

McNamara told current and future Syracuse students that, as part of their college experience, the basketball team “needs to be good. That should be non-negotiable. … That should be part of your journey as a student. It should be so much fun because the basketball team is so good. … I’m going to do my best to work my rear end off to change it.”

Relationships Stand the Test of Time

McNamara credited his parents, Gerard and Joyce, for teaching him “everything I feel like I am as a person, as a man, as a husband and a father.”

After McNamara was offered the opportunity to take over at his alma mater, one of the first things McNamara did was FaceTime with his parents to let them know “I’m about to sign a contract to be the head coach at Syracuse University. [It was] one of the great things and memories of my life.”

In the name, image and likeness (NIL) age, where student-athletes have agents and eye lucrative sponsorship deals, McNamara emphasized the importance of the relationships he builds.

“For me to truly be at my best, there’s that communication level and relationship building,” McNamara said. “To me, the relationships and the love for a place are always going to stand the test of time.”

G-Mac Learned to Love Basketball From His Dad

Before he set school records for Syracuse University—and before he was the two-time Associated Press Pennsylvania Boys High School Small School Player of the Year and the 2002 Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year for Bishop Hannan (now known as Holy Cross)—McNamara was simply a basketball enthusiast.

“I loved basketball, and because I loved it, my father gave me as much of it as I could absorb, [from playing in] different leagues to [getting the] key to the gym at Holy Rosary Parish,” said McNamara, the Orange’s leader in career three-pointers made, free throw percentage and minutes played.

Simple Formula for Success

Between frequent travel for games and recruiting trips and late nights at the office watching game film, the life of a college basketball coach can be complicated.

But at home, surrounded by sons, Gerry and Patrick, and daughters, Maggie and Grace, McNamara says he’s found a simple formula for success. It all starts with his wife, Katie, a fellow Scranton native.

“Going into the last job [at Siena], Katie said, ‘Our happiness is simple’,” Gerry said. “And the way I took that was, ‘Yes, it is. It’s very simple because it’s us.’ It’s always going to be us. We’re in this together always. But as I take this job, it’s not as simple as that. Our happiness is simple because you make it so easy for us to be happy. There’s no one I love and truly admire more than you.”

One of Syracuse University’s most celebrated alumni is coming home. The University today announced that Gerry McNamara ’06, a member of the 2003 National Championship-winning team, has been named head coach of the . A Scranton, Pennsylvania, native, McNamara returns to lead the storied program where his legendary career began, following two seasons as head coach at Siena University where he engineered one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Division I basketball. His appointment, effective immediately, was approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees.

“I love this place. I love what Syracuse means: to the fans, to the players who have worn this jersey, to the people of Central New York. This program has given me everything, and I am ready to give everything back to it,” says McNamara. “College basketball has changed. How you build a program, recruit talent, compete for resources and win looks different than it did even five years ago. I know that. I’m ready for it. What hasn’t changed is what Orange Nation expects, and what this place deserves. We are going to build something special here.”

McNamara spent 14 seasons as an assistant coach on Jim Boeheim’s staff before serving as associate head coach under Adrian Autry in 2023-24, then departing for Siena in March 2024. In his first season leading Siena, he guided the Saints to a 14-18 record, a 10-win improvement over the previous season that ranked among the top 10 turnarounds nationally and earned him recognition as one of 16 finalists for the CollegeInsider.com Joe B. Hall Award, presented annually to the nation’s top first-time Division I head coach. He opened his tenure with three consecutive victories, becoming the first Siena coach to start with three straight wins in more than four decades.

“Gerry McNamara is who our storied basketball program needs at this important moment,” says Bryan B. Blair, incoming director of athletics. “In every conversation, his competitive fire and passion was undeniable—it’s simply part of his DNA. He returns to Syracuse as a proven Division I head coach who led a program through a turnaround and back to the NCAA Tournament. At every stop in his playing and coaching journey, he has elevated those around him—student-athletes, staff and the broader community—through his energy, his standards and his ability to connect. While Gerry’s deep connection to Syracuse is meaningful, it’s simply a bonus to what he brings as a coach and leader. He honors our past, but he is driven to build for the future. This is a critical moment for Syracuse basketball, and it will take all of us—everyone connected to Syracuse University, Syracuse Athletics and Central New York—locking arms and supporting this program like never before. We welcome Gerry home and can’t wait to see where he takes our program.”

“Gerry is a leader who brings out the best in people,” says John Wildhack, outgoing director of athletics. “I watched him for years as an assistant: in the gym, on the road recruiting and in conversations with players and their families. What has always distinguished him is the trust he builds. He has proven in a short time as a head coach that he knows how to build a program. I am proud that this was among the final pieces of work I had a hand in, and I have no doubt that he will make Syracuse and all of Orange Nation proud.”

A four-year starter from 2002-06, McNamara is the program’s all-time career leader in made three-pointers (400), free throw percentage (.888) and minutes played (4,799) and ranks among the all-time leaders in assists, steals and scoring. He was part of the 2003 National Championship team, earning All-Final Four honors after hitting six three-pointers against Kansas in the title game as a freshman. As a senior in 2006, he earned Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American honors and was named the Dave Gavitt Award winner as tournament MVP after leading Syracuse to the Big East Championship. His No. 3 jersey was retired by the University in March 2023. Following his collegiate career, McNamara accepted an invitation to Utah Jazz training camp and played professionally in Europe before returning to Syracuse to begin his coaching career.

As an assistant at Syracuse, McNamara was a cornerstone of the program’s recruiting operation for 15 seasons, helping guide the Orange to nine NCAA Tournament appearances, including Final Four runs in 2013 and 2016. He was a primary mentor for NBA players, including Michael Carter-Williams, Dion Waiters and Tyler Ennis, as well as Buddy Boeheim, Cole Swider, Michael Gbinije and Elijah Hughes.

“Gerry McNamara’s story is as authentically Syracuse as they come,” says Chancellor-elect J. Michael Haynie. “He came here from Scranton with something to prove and became one of the greatest players this program has ever seen and one of the most trusted coaches to sit on our bench. Now he’s coming home with a singular mission: to return Syracuse basketball to where it belongs, among the elite programs in the country. His coaching, recruiting and fundraising prowess, his passion and talent, and his deep belief in what it means to be Orange are exactly what we need. I could not be more excited to welcome Gerry, Katie and their family back to the Hill, and I can’t wait for the tip-off of the 2026-27 season.”

McNamara brings to the role deep and proven recruiting relationships, having spent well over a decade as the primary contact for elite guards and perimeter players nationally. During his time as an assistant, he was widely credited with building the pipeline of backcourt talent that kept Syracuse competitive at the highest level. Student-athletes who have played for McNamara consistently point to his accessibility, his direct communication style and his commitment to preparing players for life beyond basketball as hallmarks of his approach.

McNamara graduated from Syracuse in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications. He earned two AP Pennsylvania State Player of the Year honors at Bishop Hannan High School and finished seventh all-time in Pennsylvania high school scoring history. He is a gold medalist with the United States national team at the 2005 World University Games. McNamara and his wife, Katie, have four children: sons Gerry and Patrick and daughters Maggie and Grace.

For spring break, March 9-13, students traveled to perform mission service, immersed themselves in learning experiences, took in new sights and dominated on the field.

Here are some of the ways they spent their spring break:

Bryan Blair spent his college years studying history, and he knows a storied program when he sees one. His job now is to build on the proud winning tradition of Syracuse University Athletics.

“Seeing the heights this university had over time, seeing the constant brand and how it speaks to the entire country. Everybody knows when they see that block S that it means something special,” Blair, the school’s 12th athletics director, said Thursday morning during his introductory press conference inside the Miron Victory Court.

“How do we harness that history, that excellence and the other intangibles we have?” Blair said. “We want to wake this sleeping beast … and take control of our destiny and make sure the world knows that Syracuse University is one of the top 10 brands in all of college athletics and we’re here to stay.”

Before coming to Syracuse, Blair served as vice president and director of athletics at the University of Toledo. He will officially take over as director of athletics on July 1.

Get to know Blair and his message for the Orange community.

No Silver Bullet for Success

In the ever-changing college athletics landscape, Blair admits there’s pressure for Syracuse to “win, and we’ve got to win a lot.” But those lofty expectations come with the job, and Blair said he is embracing this latest challenge in his career.

Tapping into curiosity, one of his five core values, Blair is looking forward to challenging everything when it comes to leading the athletics department.

“Nothing is an easy silver bullet,” he said. “Because this place is unique, it’s going to take a unique solution, unique collaboration and unique energy to pull this thing together to do what we collectively want to do and really leverage those unique assets.”

Blair says he plans to “modernize our enterprise,” “attack revenue generation and NIL,” because “NIL is one of the most, if not the most important aspects of what we do.”

5 Core Guiding Values

Besides curiosity, Blair shared his core values that guide and shape how he runs an athletics department.

• Family: “My family means the world to me.” (More on that below.)
• Passion: “I will match the passion and the energy of this fan base, and of our alumni and our supporters.”
• Integrity: “We’re going to do things in a way that always makes this university proud.”
• Curiosity: “Everything we do can get better, it can be challenged, it can be thought of differently. Now is the time to lead from the front and think outside the box in terms of what [college athletics] should look like.”
• Servanthood: “I am the fullback of the athletic department, the guy … empowering somebody else’s success; doing the dirty work to clear the way.”

“If we keep the student-athletes as that North Star, we’ll be really successful and will also produce future leaders of this country from Syracuse University,” Blair said.

Drawing Inspiration From Family

Blair says you’ll see his 7-year-old daughter, Brielle, and 5-year-old son, William (Beau), around the office. That’s because he believes in blending family with work.

“They’re my everything, they are my inspiration,” Blair said.

Blair draws strength and inspiration from his family, especially his wife, Jenna, who he refers to as his “ride-or-die.”

“[Jenna is] that person who speaks that power and that vision into you for you to make it possible. You’d love to say that you’re bulletproof and nothing bothers you, but all of us have those days, all of us need that support, that inspiration,” Blair said.

A Learned Work Ethic

Growing up in the small town of Bennettsville, South Carolina, Blair learned firsthand from his parents the important lessons of finding success both on the football field and in the classroom.

His parents, Dannie and Woodrow, insisted that Blair had to earn all As on his report card if he wanted to play football.

After playing Division I football and graduating with a bachelor’s degree in history from Wofford College in 2007, Blair went on to earn a law degree from the University of South Carolina in 2010. He credits his successes to his parents, the biggest influences in his life and the hardest-working people he knows.

“You cannot escape the work. You have to put in the time and the effort and even when it gets hard, you work harder,” says Blair, who paused with emotion when talking about his parents.

Creating the Dome as an Experience

One of the best draws for the Orange is playing home games inside the raucous JMA Wireless Dome, or the Loud House. Blair got his first glimpse inside the JMA Dome with Chancellor-elect J. Michael Haynie, and the JMA Dome left an immediate and lasting impression.

“We can build a unique, immersive experience that’s unlike anything you see in this country outside of [Las] Vegas,” Blair said. “We’re going to think outside the box [about] what that experience looks like. How do we create that home court advantage for all our teams?”

The ten women stand together in the gymnasium, faces serious, hands on their hips. With their shoulders squared, right feet turned in a split stance, their eyes stare into the camera in an unmoving challenge.

That’s the photo that accompanies an April 15, 1895, article titled “Women’s Gymnasium Work” in the University News, describing the activities of the Syracuse women students playing a unique sport on campus—battle-ball.

“We, too, have our college athletics,” the article reads. “You have doubtless heard of the basketball teams of Wellesley, and other women’s colleges; but do you know that in our own University we have two teams of young women, not playing basket-ball but the splendid game of battle-ball? Vigorously do we practice on Tuesday and Thursday of each week, and so expert have we become that we quite belie the accusation that ‘a girl can’t throw a ball.’”

What exactly was battle-ball? According to the , there’s no other information on the game in the library’s collections.

But the article’s author Carrie S. Romer wrote that battle-ball was only “a part of our work in the gymnasium.”

“Our eyes have long since wearied of the statement—or we might almost say epitaph—so often seen in our college papers, ‘Miss — has been obliged to leave college because of ill-health,’ and we have determined that we, the members of the women’s gymnasium classes, will prevent, as far as we can, the possibility of such remarks concerning ourselves,” she wrote. “Hence, two, three, or four times each week we repair to the gymnasium to enjoy our exercises and games.”

A Higher Stakes Game

, professor of history and senior associate dean for academic affairs in the , reviewed the article for Syracuse University Today. She says the piece gives a glimpse of the experience of women attending college in the late 19th century.

Women’s education and college athletics both expanded dramatically in the United States after the Civil War, she says.

“Americans worried that men might become weak without the testing ground of war,” Faulkner says.

There was particular concern at the time about “neurasthenia”—a nervous disorder for both men and women, she says.

“As the article makes clear, there was concern that college might be too mentally (and physically) taxing for women, which could also be an argument to exclude them from education, careers, political and legal rights, etc.,” Faulkner says.

According to the University News article, the women used “traveling rings, horizontal bars and ladders” during those gym sessions in the University’s , which was built in the early 1890s and demolished by 1965.

“We strengthen the various muscles of our bodies, and acquire a courage that we should not have dreamed of possessing a few years ago,” Romer wrote.

In the 1895 article, the students made clear that their exercise wasn’t a chore.

“We should not be college women if we did not mingle a bit of fun with our work, and one of our chief pleasures has been to invent names for our various exercises,” Romer states. “Perhaps you have heard of our ‘gymnastic hop,’ ‘chicken walk,’ ‘ostrich walk’ and ‘flying angel,’ but if you do not know what they are, we invite you to come and see for yourself—if you may. Should you be so unfortunate as to belong to the sex seldom admitted during ‘ladies hours,’ we can give you no better advice than to follow the suggestions given by the names and learn for yourself what we mean.”

Faulkner says the article and accompanying photo make clear the women exercised separately from their male classmates, which is likely why their skirts are shorter. During the 1890s, women’s activities were “severely proscribed” by fashion (corsets and long skirts), modesty and propriety of the Victorian era.

The 1890s saw those standards giving way to the era of the “new woman,” Faulkner says, in which women discarded those restrictions as they embraced sports for the health and social benefits.

“I love the picture because their choice of clothing, especially the short skirts, shows how much athletics challenged the still powerful views that women should be modest,” she says. “Women’s fashion did not allow shorter (above the ankle) skirts for everyday wear until about WWI. Earlier, in the 1850s, women’s rights activists stopped wearing the ‘’ because they were mocked so severely.”

Beyond the Gymnasium

The article that follows the story on battle-ball also focuses on the experience of women in higher education at the time, titled “What is the College Woman Doing in the World?”

“We can hardly imagine a woman who has had the inspiration of four years of college life as going out into the world and leaving behind her all the life and stir that have been hers for four years,” the article by M.S. Coon says.

The second article delves into ways female graduates were making careers for themselves, namely with social activism or social work. Specifically, it mentions women college graduates founding and working in , which functioned as community-based centers in poor neighborhoods.

The two articles, side-by-side, give a clear look at how women on the Syracuse campus were advocating at the time for their own athletics, education and careers after graduation.

“The author and her fellow athletes were asserting their physical health along with their academic capabilities in hopes of creating or advancing post-college opportunities at a time when careers were still very limited for women and most women would still marry and have children,” Faulkner says.

The articles from the University News are housed in the in the University Archives. Anyone can visit the Special Collections Research Center and request to see them.

—March 24—is a day to celebrate all that it means to be Orange, to keep beloved traditions alive for students and keep building the community that makes Syracuse University extraordinary.

There are countless ways to support students—through greatest needs and deans’ funds in all of the University’s schools and colleges and through initiatives that benefit students Universitywide, across majors and disciplines.

Here are five unique ways you can make your impact on the Orange in support of experiences, community and traditions:

Since 23 students gathered at Crouse College on Feb. 4, 1901, the Syracuse University Marching Band has grown into one of the most celebrated collegiate bands in the nation. From its first football game appearance that fall to marching in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and performing at Super Bowl XLVIII, the band has represented the University on some of the world’s biggest stages.

The band earned its iconic nickname, The Pride of the Orange, in 1970, when an announcer introduced the band following its award-winning performance at the World Band Festival in Kerkrade, Netherlands. The name has defined the band ever since.

Today, with nearly 220 members drawn from five Central New York colleges (Syracuse, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Le Moyne College, SUNY Oswego and Onondaga Community College) and more than 80 majors, the band is far more than a performing ensemble. It is a cornerstone of Syracuse University life; it’s a community where students find lifelong friendships and carry the Orange spirit forward.

As the band marks its 125th anniversary, the College of Visual and Performing Arts is raising funds for new uniforms, which will debut at the Sept. 5, 2026, football home opener vs. New Hampshire. A generous donor has pledged an $85,000 matching gift, doubling every dollar contributed to this historic milestone.

Syracuse is home to more than 300 registered student organizations—from performance groups and cultural organizations to service clubs and everything in between—and they’re at the heart of what makes the Syracuse experience special.

On Giving Day, 41 student organizations are competing for a share of $3,500 in bonus funding through the Student Organization Challenge, rallying their communities to give, engage and show up. Winners are determined by unique donor count, social media engagement and on-campus spirit at Schine Student Center, so every gift, like and share genuinely moves the needle. The challenge dollars have been allocated via Senior Vice President Allen Groves and the Student Experience team.

Can’t find a group that speaks to you? A gift to the Student Experience Fund supports small grants that help all Syracuse students fully enjoy campus life. This is your chance to invest in the people and communities that make Syracuse University home.

The Center for the Creator Economy (CCE) is the first academic center of its kind on a U.S. college campus. Led jointly by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, the center reinforces the University’s commitment to bold, forward-looking academic leadership.

By aligning strengths in entrepreneurship, media, communications, athletics and digital infrastructure, the University is charting how higher education can prepare students for the 21st-century economy. The center will serve as a dynamic platform for teaching and learning; workshops and executive education; speaker series and showcases; on-campus incubators and makerspaces; research and thought leadership; and college athletics.

The fund will support many CCE initiatives, including The Vibe, a student-run creative agency providing students real-world experience through working with clients, and the ’CUSE Creator Crew, which will support creator and brand collaborations and hands-on student learning.

Thomas O’Brien ’25, who helped launch the new center, will co-host six live shows from the Schine Student Center throughout the day to showcase Syracuse University creators.

In May, the Hendricks Chapel Choir will perform on the African continent for the first time. The choir travels internationally every four to five years, providing unique experiential learning opportunities to its members. The choir has previously performed in China (2005); Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay (2009); Europe (Poland and Germany, including Auschwitz, 2013); Mexico (2018); and London and Lockerbie and Edinburgh, Scotland (2023). With plans to visit Oceania in 2030, the choir will have performed on every habitable continent by the 100th anniversary of the chapel.

The performances on the South African tour include Johannesburg (performing with the University of Johannesburg Choir); Soweto (Apartheid Museum and Mandela House); Pretoria (University of Pretoria-Tuks Camerata); Drakensberg (performing with the Drakensberg Boys Choir); Pietermaritzburg (UKZN School of Religious Studies) and Cape Town (performing with the St. George’s Cathedral Choir).

“When our graduating seniors consider the most impactful and meaningful moments of their time studying at Syracuse University, international performing tours always top the list,” says Jose “Peppie” Calvar, professor and chair of applied music and performance and director of choral activities in the Setnor School of Music in the College of Visual and Performing Arts and director of the Hendricks Chapel Choir. “Performing tours forge lifelong friendships and memories within our students. The experience of singing in front of an international audience confirms our shared humanity and our students’ place as citizens of a larger world and stewards of the world they’re shaping.”

Syracuse Giving Day is a great time for fans and alumni to support Syracuse University Athletics. Make a gift to the athletic department’s top priorities through Athletics Competitive Excellence. Your support pushes our 20 varsity athletic programs to compete for championships and elevates the student-athlete experience for more than 550 student-athletes on campus.

Visit the for the complete Giving Day experience.

One of the nation’s rising stars in intercollegiate athletics will soon take the helm of Syracuse University Athletics. Chancellor-elect J. Michael Haynie today announced the appointment of Bryan B. Blair as the University’s next director of athletics. Blair has served as vice president and director of athletics at the University of Toledo since 2022. He is widely regarded as one of the most creative and accomplished leaders in college athletics: a builder of championship programs, a generator of innovative revenue strategies and a genuine believer in the transformative power of higher education. His appointment has been approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees.

“Bryan Blair is the athletics leader for this moment and for the future of Syracuse University,” says Haynie. “He is a fierce competitor who knows how to build winning programs, a visionary who approaches the business of college athletics with genuine creativity and ingenuity, and a leader of exemplary character who understands that athletics exists to serve students and the broader University mission. He is exactly the right person to lead the new era of Syracuse University Athletics.”

Fierce Fundraiser and Innovative Revenue Generator

Blair has built a reputation across the industry for finding new and creative ways to grow programs, generate revenue and create experiences that connect athletics to its surrounding community. Under Blair’s leadership, the University of Toledo has accomplished the following:

• grew fundraising by 282% since FY22, including securing the second-largest gift in school history;
• built the Mid-American Conference’s most sophisticated NIL ecosystem, securing national partnerships with Powerade and pioneering auto-lease arrangements for women’s basketball;
• launched the 1923 Society, generating more than $13.6 million with nearly 50% first-time major gift donors;
• achieved 71% growth in Rocket Fund with more than $1 million-plus gifts in 13 months than the previous decade combined;
• secured KeyBank as the inaugural title sponsor of women’s athletics and launched the Venture Visionary Courtside Club, two transformational corporate partnerships that elevated the Toledo brand and increased revenue generation;
• established a departmentwide data and analytics initiative focused on “Data Excellence,” integrating advanced analytics and AI to drive decision-making, revenue growth and student-athlete support;
• partnered with Vu Technologies to create the first digital studio of its kind in college athletics and converted dormant facilities into active revenue and corporate activation assets;
• launched “Glass City Live,” the program’s first football stadium concert in more than 30 years, drawing 18,000 fans and establishing a new revenue stream;
• added rowing as a varsity sport through a novel partnership model projected to generate more than $1 million in annual net tuition; and
• led the development of a $75 million facilities master plan.

Blair says he looks forward to bringing his big ideas and bigger energy to Syracuse University.

“Syracuse University is one of the most iconic programs in college athletics, with a proud championship history, world-class academics and an incredibly passionate fan base,” says Blair. “The opportunity to lead Orange Athletics at this moment is incredibly exciting because the potential ahead is extraordinary. With the clear alignment and shared ambition of Chancellor Haynie, the Board of Trustees, our campus leadership, coaches, student-athletes, alumni and the entire Central New York community, we will build a modern athletics enterprise that competes for championships, elevates the Orange brand and positions Syracuse as a national leader in the future of college athletics. The best days of Syracuse Athletics are ahead of us, and I am honored to have the opportunity to lead the program to new levels of excellence.”

Blair also thanked the search committee for its work.

“I want to extend my sincere appreciation to Steve Ballentine for his leadership as chair of the search committee, to Mike Tirico, vice chair of the Board of Trustees, and to the entire committee for the time, care and thoughtfulness they invested throughout the process. Their passion for Syracuse was palpable throughout the process, and I’m excited to work together to move Syracuse Athletics forward.”

Building Cultures of Success

During his tenure at Toledo, Blair built an unprecedented culture of success. He led Toledo to three consecutive MAC Cartwright Awards as the conference’s top overall athletics program and 16 conference championships in less than four years—more than the program had won in the previous decade combined. His tenure included a MAC football title, two bowl wins, two championship game appearances and historic victories over Mississippi State and Pitt. Toledo’s football program also produced consecutive Top-65 NFL Draft picks and multiple AP Top-25 appearances, while leading all Group of Six programs in 2026 NFL combine invites. Toledo Athletics led the nation in combined football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball conference wins from 2022–24 with 76, and finished second nationally in the Excellence in Management Cup. In the same year, Toledo became the first program in school history to win both the MAC’s Reese Trophy for top men’s programs and the Jacoby Trophy for top women’s programs. Toledo also secured the program’s first-ever volleyball championship, while nearly doubling attendance.

Search Committee Chairman Steve Ballentine ’83 says Blair’s vision and track record combined with his business acumen position him to hit the ground running.

“Bryan is an impressive leader who stood out in a pool of high-caliber candidates from across college athletics, professional sports and other relevant industries,” says Ballentine. “He is an innovator who finds opportunities others don’t see, a competitor who builds championship cultures and a leader who brings out the best in every member of his team. He is going to do big things at Syracuse, and I am thrilled to welcome him to the Orange Nation.”

Track Record of Success

Prior to Toledo, Blair served as deputy athletic director and chief operating officer at Washington State University (WSU), where he helped guide a Power Five program through one of the most visible periods in its history. While at WSU, the program:

• doubled annual fundraising to more than $30 million and secured an $11 million naming rights agreement;
• secured a Top-10 national finish and the program’s first 11-win season in football;
• made NCAA tournament appearances in six sports;
• had 35 All-Americans; and
• and accomplished record academic achievement.

Blair played a key role in hiring two future Power Four head coaches, including Kyle Smith, now at Stanford, and Jake Dickert, now at Wake Forest. He directed the program’s NIL strategy, including assisting in the recruitment of future No. 1 NFL Draft pick Cam Ward, who played two seasons at Washington State before transferring to the University of Miami. Before Washington State, Blair spent four years at Rice University as a senior associate athletics director, where he helped the department win 16 conference championships across nine sports, grow its annual fund by 73% and secure a record $3 million partnership with the Texas Medical Center. He also held a compliance role at the University of South Carolina, working closely with Dawn Staley’s Top-10 women’s basketball program during a formative period that included the recruitment of the nation’s top prospect and future WNBA star, Aja Wilson.

Commitment to the Academic Mission

What distinguishes Blair as much as his competitive and business record is his commitment to the mission of higher education. A lifelong learner with a law degree and a background as a Division I student-athlete, he has consistently integrated athletics into the academic and civic life of the institutions he has served. At Toledo, he co-chaired the search process for the university’s executive vice president and provost, a role rarely assumed by an athletics director. Student-athletes excelled in the classroom during Blair’s tenure producing 11 consecutive semesters above a 3.3 department GPA. Blair’s “Team Toledo” movement created a unified identity across the athletics department, the broader university and the Northwest Ohio region, aligning partners, fans and institutions around a shared mission and purpose.

In 2024, Blair was named to the Sports Business Journal (SBJ) Forty Under 40, one of only two MAC athletic directors ever to receive the honor. The SBJ Forty Under 40 is one of the sports industry’s premier executive honors, with previous alumni that include Adam Silver (NBA commissioner), Kevin Plank (founder, Under Armour), Brett Yormark (Big 12 commissioner) and Brian Rolapp (CEO, PGA Tour). Blair is also a member of the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions, and formerly served on the Steering Committee of the National Sports Forum, one of the largest gatherings of revenue generation executives from a diverse array of teams, leagues, agencies and brands. Blair holds a juris doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law and a bachelor of arts in history from Wofford College, where he was a Division I football student-athlete.

Blair and his wife, Jenna, have two children, daughter Brielle and son Beau.

When Sgt. First Class Andrew Zellar began basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, on June 6, 2006, he thought he knew what his career in military service would look like.

Twenty years later, as he moves on from years as a military science instructor at Syracuse University and prepares to retire later this year from the New York Army National Guard, he reflects on a career that took unexpected turns and allowed him to impact hundreds of lives in ways he never imagined.

“The most unexpected part was the chance to have the assignment at ROTC. I had a vague understanding of what I would be doing, but my experience was a lot more rewarding than I expected,” Zellar says. “The thing I am most proud of is seeing past soldiers and cadets performing in the Army and in life.”

Zellar’s journey began like many of his generation, shaped by the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Fresh out of high school in 2004, the Cazenovia native wanted to serve, but his parents encouraged him to pursue college first.

After two years, the pull toward service won out. He enlisted in the Army National Guard as a military police officer, initially planning to combine service with the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).

When plans to deploy overseas did not materialize, Zellar found himself in limbo—until an opportunity emerged that would define his career.

Finding His Calling in Recruiting

In 2007, during one of the most challenging periods for military recruiting, Zellar stepped into a role that would test every interpersonal skill he possessed. The economy was collapsing, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were intensifying, and the National Guard needed people who could connect with potential recruits and their families.

“Most people that join the military always have a desire to do it,” Zellar says. “It’s just that the opportunity to do it has to intersect with the motivation.”

He saw this firsthand at career fairs, where he met not teenagers but 25- and 30-year-old adults with impressive resumes who simply had no jobs. The 2008 economic crisis had created both challenges and opportunities for recruiting.

His approach was simple but demanding: show up.

“I probably failed more than I succeeded in a lot of things, but I would just show up,” he says. That first year, he worked every single day, meeting potential recruits whenever and wherever they needed—late nights, weekends, holidays.

His work in St. Lawrence County, located along New York’s northern border, juxtaposed recruiting Clarkson University, SUNY Potsdam, SUNY Canton and St. Lawrence University with the county’s rural residents.

One memory stands out in particular. Zellar visited a young man living in dire poverty—a home heated with wood pallets, with essentially nothing. “You need this. You got to get out of here,” he remembers thinking. The National Guard gave the young man a path forward.

The rural assignment taught Zellar invaluable lessons, sharpening his skills and deepening his understanding of how people struggle.

Preparing the Next Generation

In 2018, Zellar was chosen for a new role with the New York Army National Guard. He joined Syracuse University as a military science instructor with the Army ROTC program, a position that joined his recruiting expertise with a deeper mission of developing young leaders.

Over the next eight years, he worked with more than 325 cadets and contributed to the commissioning of 215 Army second lieutenants.

“The thing I’ll look back on and enjoy the most is watching them achieve what they’re capable of achieving,” Zellar says. He remembers helping a cadet, an Iraqi refugee, obtain her citizenship, presenting her with a pocket Constitution at the ceremony.

His teaching philosophy challenges students to expand their perspectives.

“Whatever news source you get, whatever stuff you like to read, read the opposite,” he tells first-year students. “Just for no other reason than to see something a little bit different.”

His advice extends beyond tactics and strategy. “Swing at the pitch. If you get an opportunity, you can strike out. I’ll deal with it. We will figure it out. But nothing’s worse than watching the pitch go by,” he says.

A Legacy Beyond the Uniform

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zellar and his ROTC colleagues proved indispensable, running testing sites and helping keep the University operational. It exemplified what he values most about service: being there when it matters.

As Zellar retires from military service later this year, he leaves behind more than statistics. He leaves young officers commissioned and ready to lead, recruits who found purpose and opportunity, and countless individuals whose lives changed because one person was willing to show up every time, without fail.

As he moves forward, Zellar will continue to pursue his real estate career. And he is looking forward to spending more time on what matters most: his wife Gloriann, daughters Audrey and Gabriella, and son Andrew Jr.

Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud today announced the members of the search committee for the University’s next director of athletics. The search follows the announcement that John Wildhack plans to retire on July 1, 2026, capping a nearly five-decade career in sports that includes 36 years at ESPN and nearly 10 years at the helm of Syracuse Athletics.

“John Wildhack has been an exceptional leader for Syracuse Athletics,” says Chancellor Syverud. “The next director of athletics will build on a strong foundation and lead us into an exciting new era of Orange Athletics.”

Steve Ballentine ’83, University trustee and chair of the Board of Trustees Athletics Committee, will chair the search committee, which includes University trustees, senior administrators, coaching staff, former Syracuse athletes and alumni representatives. They include:

• John Lally ’82, University Trustee
• Ian McIntyre, Men’s Soccer Coach
• Raquel-Ann “Roxi” Nurse McNabb ’98, G’99, University Trustee
• Gabe Nugent, Senior Vice President and General Counsel
• Sarah Scalese, Vice President for Communications
• Mike Tirico ’88, Vice Chair, Board of Trustees

As part of its work, the search committee will seek input from across the University community through engagement with student-athletes, coaches, athletics staff, faculty, alumni and other key stakeholders to gather a wide array of perspectives.

“This search process will be both comprehensive and expeditious,” says Ballentine. “Syracuse Athletics has tremendous assets: a storied athletic history, passionate fan base, exceptional talent, world-class facilities and affiliation in the ACC, one of the nation’s premier conferences. This is a pivotal moment in the rapidly evolving world of college athletics. We’re committed to finding a visionary leader who will help write the next great chapter of Syracuse Athletics.”

CSA Search & Consulting will support the University with this national search. Members of the University community are encouraged to share their input by completing that will inform the search committee’s work.

Syracuse University Director of Athletics John Wildhack ’80 today announced he will retire on July 1, 2026, concluding a distinguished 46-year career, including 10 years at the helm of and more than 36 years at ESPN.

“It has been the greatest honor of my career to lead Syracuse Athletics,” says Wildhack. “Syracuse University shaped the trajectory of my life, and to spend nearly a decade serving my alma mater has been an extraordinary privilege. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished: championship-caliber facilities, record academic achievement and student-athletes excelling on and off the field. I came here with a tremendous sense of responsibility and leave with profound gratitude for the opportunity to give back to the place that gave me so much.”

Wildhack, a 1980 graduate of the , returned to Syracuse in 2016 after nearly four decades at ESPN, where he rose from production assistant to executive vice president for programming and production. At Syracuse, he oversaw significant investment in athletics facilities. These include the reimagination and renaming of the JMA Wireless Dome as well as the transformation of the John A. Lally Athletics Complex, a state-of-the-art academic and athletics village serving all 20 Syracuse University teams and more than 600 student-athletes.

“From the moment John returned to his alma mater in 2016, he has been relentless in his pursuit of excellence across all facets of Syracuse Athletics,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “John has supported our student-athletes as competitors and scholars, he has transformed our athletics facilities. He has been a vital leader in the work of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and he has navigated the rapidly evolving college athletics landscape with expertise and vision. I am deeply grateful to John and wish him and his family the very best as he begins this well-deserved retirement.”

Under Wildhack’s leadership, Syracuse student-athletes achieved unprecedented academic success, with the University posting its highest Academic Progress Rate scores since tracking began. Beyond campus, Wildhack has been a leading voice on the future of college athletics. In May 2025, the Atlantic Coast Conference appointed Wildhack to the prestigious NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, where he currently serves as the ACC’s representative. He has also served as chair of ACC Athletic Directors and been instrumental in advancing discussions around student-athlete welfare, revenue sharing and the sustainable growth of college sports.

“I am incredibly proud of the competitive and academic success our programs have had over the last decade,” says Wildhack. “I appreciate Chancellor Syverud, our Board of Trustees and our athletics staff for their passion, dedication and unwavering support of our student-athletes. To our fans, donors and Syracuse Nation, thank you for your commitment to Orange Athletics and thank you for supporting our teams in our pursuit of excellence.”

Syracuse University has deep personal significance for the Wildhack family. His father, brother, sister and two nephews are graduates, and his sons Tommy ’26 and James ’27 are current students.

“Orange runs deep in my family,” says Wildhack. “I will always be a proud alum, a proud parent and passionate supporter of Syracuse University and Syracuse Athletics. I will always be forever Orange.”

Details about the search to identify Wildhack’s successor are forthcoming.

When the puck drops for women’s ice hockey at the , three members of the Orange community will be competing for gold, representing Canada, the United States and Japan.

The University’s women’s ice hockey coach will be serving as an assistant coach for Hockey Canada, ’16 will be working as a video coach for Team USA and ’15 will be playing defense for Team Japan.

Seeing Smith and other members of the Orange’s hockey alumni community on the Olympic stage is “an amazing feeling,” says current defensemen ’26.

“It’s awesome to see how far the game has grown,” she says. “Obviously, everyone dreams of one day playing in the Olympics. So knowing your coach is there, some of the teammates you played with before are there, it just represents something bigger than yourself. And it’s really motivating to see the younger girls and the younger generations really get inspired, hopefully, to have the same dream that we all did of hopefully making it to the Olympics.”

Gendron says she hopes others watching women’s ice hockey know they can stay motivated and determined in pursuit of their own dreams of Olympic gold.

“Believe in yourself, be confident and you’ll succeed if you just keep working hard every day,” Gendron says. “One thing I really learned at Syracuse, especially, is there’s always something bigger than yourself. So remind yourself when you play, always play for something bigger than yourself and for the people around you.”

The Syracuse women’s ice hockey team is planning big watch parties with their coaches to cheer Smith on in particular, she says.

“We’re obviously very happy and proud for her, and we just can’t wait to watch her succeed,” Gendron says.

Below, learn more about Smith, Piacentini and Hosoyamada:

Smith, the second head coach in Orange women’s ice hockey program history, has worked in coaching positions for Hockey Canada since 2014. A native of Port Perry, Ontario, Smith was a Top-10 finalist for the 2010 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award while a defenseman at St. Lawrence University. She was an assistant coach at Clarkson for eight years, taking the reins at Syracuse in May 2022.

She and Hockey Canada took silver at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Czechia in April, falling only to the United States in an overtime classic for the Gold Medal Round.

“Representing Canada on the international stage is both humbling and exciting, and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to contribute alongside some of the most accomplished athletes and coaches in the game,” Smith in a statement when her Olympic position on the team was announced in July.

Smith said she looks forward to returning to Syracuse “with valuable experiences and insights that will further benefit our team and the continued growth of our program.”

Piacentini ended her senior season playing forward for Syracuse as the program’s all-time leader in career points (112, accounting for both goals and assists) and was the recipient of the . She also won the award in 2016.

After graduating, she played professionally for the EVB Eagles Südtirol (formerly the EV Bozen Eagles) in Bolzano, Italy, winning the Italian league crown in 2017.

A native of Weymouth, Massachusetts, she served as a video coach for the 2024 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team and is currently the assistant coach for the .

Hosoyamada will represent Team Japan for the at the Olympics. A team member since 2017, she previously competed as a defender in Pyeongchang (2018) and Beijing (2022).

During her time at Syracuse, Hosoyamada played five seasons after redshirting during her sophomore year and served as team captain during her redshirt senior year. During her college career, she played 151 games, tallying 10 goals and 51 assists.

Hosoyamada told Syracuse University Today that representing both Team Japan and the University brings reflection and responsibility.

Playing for the Orange, she says she learned to trust her instincts and “embrace the process.” She says she’s carried that mindset with her after graduating, to the Olympic bench and Team Japan.

With each Olympic appearance, she says her understanding of what it means to wear her jersey has “deepened.”

“I’m proud to represent Team Japan—not just as a player, but as someone who understands the history, the growth and the responsibility that comes with it,” she says. “Syracuse University will always be a huge part of who I am. It’s where I learned how to compete, how to lead and how to handle adversity. Those lessons have stayed with me throughout my career and continue to shape how I approach moments like this. Standing on the Olympic stage again, I feel grateful, grounded and motivated to give everything I have—using my experience to help the team and to perform at our best when it matters most.”

Hosoyamada says her biggest advice to young athletes dreaming of competing in the Olympics is to not give up when you encounter adversity.

“For me, there was a season when I felt like giving up completely,” she says. “But instead of walking away, I gave myself another chance—one more season, one more push. Looking back, that decision changed everything. Growth often happens right at the point where things feel hardest, so trust the process, stay patient and keep showing up, even when it’s tough.”

Over the past two years, the University’s athletic dining program has undergone a remarkable transformation under the leadership of chef Jeff Dover, who has worked to establish a standard of nutritional excellence for the Division I student-athletes.

The program was rolled out in stages, expanding alongside the construction at the John A. Lally Athletics Complex. The Fallon Family Dining Center in the complex’s Football Performance Center first opened in the spring 2025 semester for use by the football team. In the fall semester, the Magee One Team Dining Center opened, thanks to a $2 million gift from Ed Magee ’70, G ’72 to honor his father,�� effectively doubling the size of the dining program. Dover and his team now serve hundreds of student-athletes every week.

“The new dining facilities at the John A. Lally Athletics Complex, in both the Football Performance Center and Magee One Team Dining Center, showcase our continued strategic investment to help our student-athletes compete at the highest level,” says director of athletics John Wildhack ’80.

“Nutrition is a cornerstone of athletic performance, and we’ve seen firsthand how this facility has impacted our teams. Working with our nutrition staff and chef Dover, we’ve created a space where our student-athletes can fuel their bodies properly and build the kind of team culture that leads to success.”

When he was hired, Dover knew he could play a vital role in the success of student-athletes on the playing field. He works closely with team nutritionists and strength and conditioning coaches to provide food for fuel, recovery and everything in between.

“I tend to focus on the macro nutrition,” Dover says. “Whereas the performance nutritionist has to focus on the micro nutrition: hydration, vitamins and minerals, refueling and recovery.”

The transition to coach Fran Brown’s tenure in early 2024 brought fresh dynamics to the program. Dover’s team served their first meals to Brown’s squad on Jan. 17, 2024, and quickly adapted to the new coaching staff’s preferences through player surveys and constant communication.

“Coach Brown is hands-on, very involved with our nutrition program. You can tell that the details matter to him,” Dover says, emphasizing the value of direct feedback from both players and coaches.

Mixing Up the Menu to Avoid the Mundane

The menu ranges from comfort food favorites like homemade biscuits with gravy and baked French toast to upscale options on special nights. Monday nights will often feature comfort standards like burgers, hot dogs and fried fish, while Wednesdays often include player-favorite varieties of chicken wings.

The key, Dover stresses, is variety over the 15-week semester to keep meals from becoming mundane. Keeping it fresh for the juniors and seniors, players new to the program and staff requires frequent communication and input.��He says that the players won’t hesitate to let his staff know if they’re getting tired of something on the menu.

“This team and the coaching staff let you know, no questions asked,” Dover says with a smile. “I couldn’t ask for a better dynamic between my staff, particularly the supervisors and the coaching staff. It’s very familial.”

This fall, when construction ended and the Magee One Team dining area opened, the athletic dining culinary team knew that their scope of responsibilities was going to expand. They’re now providing breakfast Monday through Friday, catering departure meals for teams preparing for away games and providing pregame meals for same-day competition in Syracuse seven days a week.

Dover’s ultimate goal is ambitious: to make Syracuse’s athletic dining program the standard of excellence that other Division I programs seek to emulate. With a motivated staff that arrives as early as 4 a.m., a collaborative relationship with coaches and their staffs and leadership from both the Athletic Department and Auxiliary Services, the foundation appears solid.

“This [experience] has been really gratifying for both myself and my staff,” Dover says. “We love these teams. You know, a lot of my staff don’t know the first thing about sports, but they really like providing these meals for the players and the coaching staff. It’s a point of pride.”

Mykala Walker’s message for the Orange community about is one she says is often repeated by head coach Felisha Legette-Jack: See it through.

Walker, who was of Syracuse women’s basketball in October, has in collegiate basketball, from playing at Wake Forest University to coaching at Arizona State, University of Delaware and Georgetown University.

Now, she’s excited to be back in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), joining the Orange and being on the frontline at a time of pivotal growth in women’s basketball.

“I love what we’re able to do for players these days,” she says. “We’re putting them on a platform to help them be truly successful long after they take off their Syracuse jersey for the last time. You’re always going to be an Orange when you leave here, but it’s an exciting time to elevate and help these kids launch into their futures.”

And in the meantime, she says the Orange community has a part to play as the team, which has won 10 of its first 11 games, continues its season.

“We need you to come here, sit with us,” she says. “See it through, and know we’re going to fight. We fight here at Syracuse.”

Below, Walker shares more about her vision for continuing to build the program.