The Syracuse Orange are the athletic teams that represent

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

. The school is a member of

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

and the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

. The school's mascot is

Otto the Orange Otto the Orange is the mascot for the Syracuse Orange, the athletic teams of Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, USA. Otto is an anthropomorphism of the color orange, wearing a large blue hat and blue pants. Otto can often be seen at Syr ...

. Until 2004, the teams were known as the Orangemen and Orangewomen. The men's basketball, football, wrestling, men's lacrosse, and women's basketball teams play in the

JMA Wireless Dome The JMA Wireless Dome, originally the Carrier Dome (1980–2022), is a domed stadium in Syracuse, New York, Syracuse, New York (state), New York, United States. Located on the campus of Syracuse University in the University Hill, Syracuse, Univer ...

, referred to as the JMA Dome. Other sports facilities include the nearby Manley Field House complex, the Tennity Ice Skating Pavilion, and Drumlins Country Club.

Important firsts

*Baseball team established: 1870 *Rowing team founded: 1874 *First recorded football game: 1884 vs. Medical College of Syracuse *First intercollegiate football game: 1889 vs.

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

*First recorded basketball game: 1899 vs. Christian Association of Hamilton (Ontario) *

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

team founded: 1916 *First

United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is an association of member institutions and organizations with college lacrosse programs at all levels of competition, including the three NCAA divisions and non-NCAA schools, at both the varsi ...

championship: 1920 *First National Championship: Football, 1959 vs. Texas *First ACC Championship: Men's Cross Country, 2013 *First Women's National Championship:

Field Hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

, 2015

Sports sponsored

Syracuse is the only ACC school and one of only four Power 5 schools that do not sponsor baseball, the other three being

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, Iowa State, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Football

The Syracuse Orange football program is a

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

team that currently represents

as a member of the

. The Syracuse University football program is also renowned for producing many All-Americans and Professionals as well as

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

rs. Among them are Ernie Davis,

Jim Brown James Nathaniel Brown (February 17, 1936 – May 18, 2023) was an American professional American football, football player, civil rights activist, and actor. He played as a Fullback (gridiron football), fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the ...

Larry Csonka Larry Richard Csonka (; born December 25, 1946) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Miami Dolphins. He also played in the NFL for three years with the ...

, Joe Morris, Art Monk, Jim Ringo, John Mackey, Doc Alexander, and Floyd Little. Among the current NFL players are Chandler Jones, Alton Robinson, Zaire Franklin, Andre Cisco, Ifeatu Melifonwu, and

Riley Dixon Riley T. Dixon (born August 24, 1993) is an American professional football punter for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Broncos in the seventh round of the 2016 NFL draft. He played college ...

Men's basketball

The Syracuse Orange men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of Syracuse University. The program is classified in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

's Division I, and the team competes in the

. The Orange won the National Championship in the 2003 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball tournament. During the 2008–09, they played in, and won, a six-overtime thriller against a rival UConn team. The game was during the Big East Championship Tournament, and is the second-longest NCAA Division I basketball game of all time. Their recent success has included a trip to the 2013 Final Four and the 2016 Final Four. In the 2013–14 season they broke a record set two years prior by starting the season 25–0. The previous record was 20–0 set during the 2011–12 season. The 1917–18 and 1925–26 Syracuse teams were retroactively named the national champion by the

Helms Athletic Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his owner ...

and the

Premo-Porretta Power Poll The Premo-Porretta Power Poll is a retroactive end-of-year ranking for American college basketball teams competing in the 1895–96 through the 1947–48 seasons. The Premo-Porretta Polls are intended to serve collectively as a source of informa ...

Women's basketball

The Syracuse Orange women's basketball program is the intercollegiate women's basketball of Syracuse University. The program is classified in the

's Division I, and the team competes in the

. The head coach of the team is Felisha Legette-Jack. The team began playing in the 1971–72 season.

Women's ice hockey

In 2008, Syracuse University announced that it would sanction a women's ice hockey team and become a member of the women-only

College Hockey America College Hockey America (CHA) was a college ice hockey conference in the United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The conference's final membership featured six women's teams, with three in Pennsylvani ...

(CHA). The team started playing in 2008. After the 2023–24 season, CHA merged with the men-only Atlantic Hockey Association to form

Atlantic Hockey America Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) is a college ice hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participates in NCAA Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. The conference was formed in 2023 by the merger of ...

. All members of both predecessor conferences were brought into the new league.

Cross Country

Men's Cross Country

Syracuse won the NCAA Men's Cross Country team title in 1951. At the 2015 NCAA Division I cross country championships Syracuse won its second NCAA team title with a score of 82 points, beating out Colorado (91) and Stanford (151). Syracuse was led by Justin Knight (4th), Colin Bennie (8th), and Martin Hehir (9th), and an All-American performance from Philo Germano (39th) secured the victory. Joel Hubbard (47th) rounded out the scoring for the Orange. The coaching staff included Brien Bell, Adam Smith and Head Coach Chris Fox, who was subsequently named USTFCCCA National Men's Coach of the Year. At the ACC Championships, The Syracuse men's cross country team has finished first or second at this meet in 10 of their 11 seasons in the league, including six league titles (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019). They joined the league in 2013 and won their first 5 ACC titles. Before then, they won the 2012 Big East Cross Country Championship.

Men's lacrosse

Syracuse fields a Division I NCAA college lacrosse team. Syracuse played its first intercollegiate lacrosse game in 1916, and captured its first USILL division championship in 1920. It would go on to win USILL championships in 1922, 1924, and 1925 and the USILA Division II co-national championship (Laurie Cox Trophy) in 1954. In the modern NCAA era, Syracuse has won ten national championships, with one additional championship (1990) vacated due to rules infractions. The Orange's ten national championship titles are the most of any team in

history. Most recently, Syracuse won the 2009 National Championship in a come-from-behind 10–9 overtime victory against

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. Prior to that year, they won in 2008.

Softball

The Orange softball team began play in 2000. The team has made three NCAA Tournament appearances in 2010, 2011, 2012. The current head coach is Shannon Doepking.

Soccer

Men's soccer

Syracuse Orange men's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

team are a Division I team in the Atlantic Coast Conference and play their games at the Syracuse Soccer Stadium. Syracuse is currently coached by

Ian McIntyre Ian McIntyre (9 December 1931 – 19 April 2014) was a British BBC Radio producer, journalist, broadcaster and author. who was Controller of BBC Radio 4 from 1976 to 1978 and then Controller of BBC Radio 3 between 1978 and 1987. After joinin ...

who has brought the team to three NCAA tournament appearances and two ACC Conference Titles in 2015 and 2022. McIntyre was named the ACC Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2022. The Orange won the

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

in the 2022 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament under coach

Women's soccer

Syracuse Orange is the

women's college soccer team for Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. They play in the

and play their games at the Syracuse Soccer Stadium. The team was founded in 1996.

Notable non-varsity sports

Baseball

Syracuse's club baseball team was established in 1979 and has been successful in tournaments. The sport is currently played at the club level and the team is part of the National Club Baseball Association ( NCBA). Many students, alumni, citizens and other baseball enthusiasts in the area are in favor of an NCAA varsity team being formed on campus, but the athletic budget is a difficult barrier. In a September 12, 2006, story in '' The Daily Orange'', Michael Wasylenko, chairman of the Athletic Policy Board, said Title IX and Syracuse's athletic budget is still a major crutch.

Men's ice hockey

Men's ice hockey competes at the ACHA Division I level in the ESCHL league. The team has been on campus for over 60 years. They play out of the on-campus ice rink, The Tennity Ice Pavilion.

Rugby

Founded in 1969, Syracuse University Rugby Football Club plays in Division 1 in the Empire Conference. Syracuse has enjoyed success, including a trip to the Division 1 sweet 16 national playoffs in 2010. Syracuse has participated in international tours to Europe, Argentina and Australia. Syracuse are led by program director Colin O'Hare.

Facilities

JMA Wireless Dome

Built in 1980, the JMA Wireless Dome is a 49,250-seat domed sports

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

located on the campus of Syracuse University. It is both the largest domed stadium on a college campus and the largest domed stadium in the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

. It is home to the Syracuse Orange football, basketball, and lacrosse teams. With regard to basketball, it holds another title, being the largest on-campus basketball arena, with a listed capacity of 33,000. This limit has been exceeded several times. The Dome sold an on-campus NCAA record of 35,446 tickets for a game against the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

on February 1, 2014. The previous record was set on February 23, 2013, against the Georgetown Hoyas, with 35,012 in the stands.

Manley Field House

Built in 1962, this complex houses many of the offices of SU Athletics including the Equipment Room. It also contains academic rooms and two weight rooms strictly for Syracuse athletes only. Adjacent to the complex there are a variety of fields used for softball,

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

, as well as a track for the track and field team. Manley was initially used as an indoor training facility for the football team, as well as a home court for men's basketball. Its

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

, 9,500, for basketball, at the time among the largest campus facilities in the

, supported the rise to national prominence of the men's basketball program. The team shifted to the JMA Wireless Dome after the 1980 season. In the final men's basketball game played at Manley, Georgetown snapped the Orangemen's 57 game home winning streak.

Carmelo Anthony Basketball Center

The name comes from Syracuse basketball star,

Carmelo Anthony Carmelo Kyam Anthony ( ; born May 29, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. Anthony played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a ten-time NBA All-Star Game, NBA All-Star and six-time All-NBA T ...

, who donated $3 million to the project. Anthony played one year with the Orange, the 2002–2003 season, in which he helped the program win its only NCAA Championship. It's a college basketball practice facility located in Syracuse, New York. The facility opened September 24, 2009. Both the men's and women's basketball teams for Syracuse University use the center. The facility houses two practice courts, locker rooms and office facilities for the men's and women's basketball programs at Syracuse. It is located on the north side of Manley Field House, in between the Roy Simmons Sr. Coaches Wing and the Comstock Art Facility.

Tennity Ice Skating Pavilion

Home of the

Division I Syracuse University ice hockey programs playing in the

conference. Named for donors Marilyn and Bill Tennity, the Pavilion opened in October 2000.

Drumlins Country Club

Owned by Syracuse University, the Drumlins Country Club, 800 Nottingham Road,

DeWitt, New York DeWitt is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,074. The town is named after major Moses DeWitt, a judge and soldier. An eastern suburb of Syracuse, DeWitt also is the site of most o ...

, operates a private, 18-hole golf course; a public, 18-hole golf course; indoor tennis courts; and other facilities. The tennis courts are home of the Syracuse University's women's tennis team.

SU Soccer Stadium

The SU Soccer Stadium is a 1,500 seat

soccer-specific stadium A soccer-specific stadium, mainly in the United States and Canada, is a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi-purpose stadium whic ...

that is home to the Syracuse Orange

men A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the fa ...

's and

women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

's soccer programs. The stadium opened in 1996 and is located behind the Manley Field House. The Hookway Fields Complex is a large practice facility with seven grass practice fields for training. The complex was completed in 2004 and is located near the soccer stadium.

Historic

Archbold Stadium

Thanks to a $600,000 gift by Syracuse University trustee and Standard Oil President, John D. Archbold, what was publicized as the "Greatest Athletic Arena in America" opened in 1907. Designed to resemble the Roman

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; , ultimately from Ancient Greek word "kolossos" meaning a large statue or giant) is an Ellipse, elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphi ...

and to never become outdated, Archbold Stadium became a trademark of Syracuse football. The stadium formed a massive

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

oval, 670 feet (204 m) long and 475 feet (145 m) wide. It was 100 feet (30 m) longer and only 22 feet (7 m) thinner than the JMA Wireless Dome, and more than 6 million Orangemen football fans passed through its gates. From 1907 until 1978, Archbold Stadium was the home of SU football. Archbold opened up with a bang when the Orange defeated Hobart 28–0. It went out in style 71 years later, with an improbable victory over second-ranked Navy 20–17. Syracuse posted a record of 265–112–50 at Archbold, and it housed many great teams. It was home of the 1915 squad, which was invited to play in the prestigious Rose Bowl and outscored its opponents 331 to 16. The 1959 team also called Archbold home ''en route'' to SU's only National Championship. In 1978, SU fans said good-bye forever to the historic stadium. Archbold was demolished to make way for the new on-campus facility, the

, which opened in 1980.(Source: SU Athletics)

Championships

NCAA team championships

Syracuse University has won 16 NCAA team national championships. *Men's (15) Syracuse Orange Rowing - Wallace 1905

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

(1): 2003 **

Boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

(1): 1936 ** Cross Country (2): 1951, 2015 **

^* (10): 1983, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009 **

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

(1): 2022 *Women's (1) **

(1):

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

*see also: ** ACC NCAA team championships **

List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships Listed below are the colleges or universities with the most NCAA Division I (NCAA), Division I-sanctioned team championships, individual championships, and combined team and individual championships, as documented by information published on offi ...

Other national team championships

Below are 17 national team titles that were not bestowed by the NCAA: * Men's **Basketball^∆ (2): 1918, 1926 **Cross-country (4): 1919, 1922, 1923, 1925 **Football (1): 1959 **Lacrosse (4): 1920^#, 1922, 1924, 1925 **Rowing (6): 1904, 1908, 1913, 1916, 1920, 1978 ^* After the 1990 championship, the NCAA Committee on Infractions determined that Paul Gait had played in the 1990 championship while ineligible. Under NCAA rules, Syracuse and Paul Gait's records for that championship were vacated. The NCAA does not recognize Syracuse and Coach Roy Simmons Jr.'s 3–0 record, and Paul Gait's 7 goals, 7 assists and his participation in that championship. ^∆ No title games or contemporary selections made. Retroactive selections by Helms and Premo-Porretta. ^# Syracuse and Lehigh claim 1920 title based on winning their USILL divisions. No title game played. Syracuse-Lehigh game won by Lehigh. *see also: ** List of NCAA schools with the most Division I national championships

Notable coaches, past and present

* Lew Andreas – Men's Basketball (1924–1950), Football (1922–1929) *

Jim Boeheim James Arthur Boeheim Jr. ( ; born November 17, 1944) is an American former college basketball coach and current Special Assistant to the Athletic Director at Syracuse University. From 1976 until 2023, he was the head coach of the Syracuse Orange ...

– Men's Basketball (1976–2023)

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

* Lew Carr – Baseball (1910–1942)

Helms Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his owner ...

College Baseball Hall of Fame * Laurie D. Cox – Men's Lacrosse (1916–1930) National Lacrosse Hall of Fame * Roy Danforth – Men's Basketball (1968–1976) * John Desko – Men's Lacrosse (1999–2021) National Lacrosse Hall of Fame * Gary Gait – Men's Lacrosse (2021–present) National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame * Ted Kleinhans – Baseball (1947–1966) * Dick MacPherson – Football (1981–1991)

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

* Doug Marrone – Football (2009–2012) * Frank "Buck" O'Neill – Football (1906–07, 1913–15, and 1917–19)

* Paul Pasqualoni – Football (1991–2004) * Ben Schwartzwalder – Football (1949–1973)

* Roy Simmons Sr. – Men's Lacrosse (1931–1969) National Lacrosse Hall of Fame * Roy Simmons Jr. – Men's Lacrosse (1970–1998) National Lacrosse Hall of Fame *

Edwin Sweetland Edwin Regur Sweetland (January 10, 1875 – October 21, 1950) was an American coach, trainer, and athletic administrator at several universities. During his coaching career he was head coach of many sports including basketball, track and field, an ...

– Men's Football (1900–1902),

Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

(1901–1902) * James A. Ten Eyck –

(1903–1938)

Notable athletes

* Doc Alexander (1916–1920) –

, 2-time All American, 2-time NFL All-Pro selection * Gary Anderson (1978–1981) – All American kicker, second all-time in NFL scoring, 2-time NFL All-Pro selection *

(2002–2003) –

NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player The Most Outstanding Player (MOP) is awarded to one player after the conclusion of the championship game of the NCAA Division I NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, men's and NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, women's basketb ...

, Olympic Gold Medalist, most points scored in Olympic play * John Barsha (born Abraham Barshofsky; 1898–1976), professional football player * Dave Bing (1963–1966) –

, Mayor of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

(1954–1957) –

, National Lacrosse Hall of Fame,

* Keith Bulluck (1996–1999) – 3-time NFL All-Pro selection linebacker *

Michael Carter-Williams Michael Carter-Williams (born October 10, 1991) is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted in the first round with the 11th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, after playing college basketball f ...

(2011–2013) –

NBA Rookie of the Year The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottlieb T ...

* Derrick Coleman (1986–1990) – Silver Anniversary

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

Basketball Team, All-time

rebounding leader,

* Tom Coughlin (1964–1967) – Head Coach,

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

(1965–1967) –

* Ernie Davis (1959–1961) –

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

winner,

Sherman Douglas Sherman Douglas (born September 15, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player from Syracuse University who played for the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets and the Los Angeles Clippers from 1989 to 2 ...

(1986–1989) – Two-time basketball All American, All-time

assists leader,

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Star *

Dennis DuVal Dennis DuVal (born March 31, 1952), nicknamed "Sweet D" is a former National Basketball Association (NBA) player. College career In 1970–71, Dennis played on the Syracuse Orange freshman basketball team. He averaged 19.2 points and 7.7 reboun ...

(1970–1974) – Former NBA player and All-American basketball player * Jonny Flynn (2007–2009) –

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

2009 First Round selection, 2009 Big East tournament MVP * Dwight Freeney (1998–2001) – 6-time NFL

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

selection, 3-time NFL All-Pro selection,

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

Champion,

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

all-time sacks leader * Gary Gait (1986–1989) – 2-time National Player of the Year, 2-time McLaughlin Award (Midfielder of the Year) winner, National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame * Paul Gait (1986–1989) – National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame *

Dave Giusti David John Giusti, Jr. (born November 27, 1939) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1962 to 1977, most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams that won ...

(1959–1961) – Major League Baseball All Star, Sporting News Reliever of the Year *

Marty Glickman Martin Irving Glickman (August 14, 1917 – January 3, 2001) was an American radio announcer who was famous for his broadcasts of the New York Knicks basketball games and the football games of the New York Giants and the New York Jets. Glickman ...

(1936–1939) – Football All American, Olympic sprinter * Marvin Graves (1990–1993) – All-time school passing yards leader * Donté Greene (2007–2008) –

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

, player * Tim Green (1982–1985) –

* Vic Hanson (1924–1927) –

Marvin Harrison Marvin Darnell Harrison Sr. (born August 25, 1972) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played his entire 13 year career for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for ...

(1992–1995) – All American, Six-time All Pro wide receiver * Jason Hart (1997–2000) – All Big East First Team * Wesley Johnson (2008–2010) – First Team All American, Big East Player of the Year, Naismith Award Finalist, Los Angeles Lakers, player *

Daryl Johnston Daryl Peter "Moose" Johnston (born February 10, 1966) is an American former professional American football, football player (running back/Fullback (gridiron football), fullback) who is currently the executive vice president of football operati ...

(1985–1988) – Two-time All Pro fullback * Mark Kerr – 1992 All-American and NCAA Division I 190 lbs champion wrestler, two-time UFC tournament champion *

Jim Konstanty Casimir James Konstanty (March 2, 1917 – June 11, 1976) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher in Major League Baseball and National League Most Valuable Player of . He played for the Cincinnati Reds (1944), Boston Braves (19 ...

(1937–1939) – 1950

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

, Saves leader * Brad Kotz (1982–1985) – National Lacrosse Hall of Fame * Floyd Little (1964–1966) –

* Ron Luciano (1957–1960) – lineman, played professionally for the Detroit Lions, and Major League Baseball umpire * John Mackey (1960–1962) –

* Julie McBride (2000–2004) – All-time Syracuse women's basketball scoring and assist leader *

Donovan McNabb Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college ...

(1995–1998) –

Offensive Player of the Decade (football) * Gerry McNamara (2002–2006) – Two-time All

Basketball Team and NCAA National Champion * Don McPherson (1985–1988) –

runner-up,

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...

winner (

College Football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Player of the Year), College Football Hall of Fame * Dave Meggyesy (1959–1963) – NFL linebacker for seven seasons; author of ''Out of Their League'' in 1970; retired NFLPA Western Regional Director * Gene Mills (1977-1981) – Four-time NCAA Wrestling All-American, two-time NCAA champion and 1981 Outstanding Wrestler, 1980 U.S. Olympian, 1980 World Cup champion and Outstanding Wrestler, National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame * Century Milstead (1922) – Heavyweight wrestler on Syracuse's first team, NFL and AFL player, College Football Hall of Fame (1977) * Art Monk (1976–1979) – All American wide receiver, 3-time All Pro, Pro Football Hall of Fame * Joe Morris (1978–1981) – All-time Syracuse rushing leader, 2-time

selection * Lawrence Moten (1991–1995) – 3-time All

Basketball Team, All-time

scoring leader *

Jim Nance the Syracuse Orange James Solomon "Big Jim" Nance (December 30, 1942 – June 17, 1992) was an American professional American football, football player who was a Fullback (American football), fullback with the Boston Patriots during thei ...

1962–1965 All America wrestling, AFL All star * Demetris Nichols (2003–2007) – Unanimous selection to All Big East Basketball Team *

Billy Owens Billy Eugene Owens (born May 1, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Syracuse, where he was an All-American and th ...

(1988–1991) – Big East Men's Basketball Player of the Year, All American,

star * Casey Powell (1995–1998) – 4-time All American, 2-time National Player of the Year (1997, 1998), Jack Turnbull Award (Attackmen of the Year) winner (1998), McLaughlin Award (Midfielder of the Year) winner (1996) * Mikey Powell (2001–2004) – 4-time All American, 2-time Tewaaraton Trophy winner (2002, 2004), National Player of the Year (2004), 4-time Jack Turnbull Award (Attackmen of the Year) winner * Ryan Powell (1997–2000) – 4-time All American, National Player of the Year (2000), Jack Turnbull Award (Attackmen of the Year) winner (2000) * Leo Rautins (1980–1983) * Andy Rautins (2005–2010) – Big East Second Team All American, Honorable All American Mention, Team Canada Basketball Player, 2nd All-Time in 3-point Field Goals Made in SU Basketball History, New York Knicks, player * Jim Ringo (1950–1952) –

* Tom Ryan (1989) - All-American Wrestler and Head Wrestling Coach of

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

* Danny Schayes (1978–1981) – Academic All American, 18-season

star * Rony Seikaly (1984–1988) – All American, Gold Medalist 1986 Basketball World Championships,

star, first ever draft pick of the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

* Wilmeth Sidat-Singh (1935–1939) – Football and Basketball star, Pioneer of civil rights in college athletics * Preston Shumpert (1998–2002) – Two-time All-Big East First Team selection * Walt Sweeney (1960–1962) – 9-time

selection, 2-time First Team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

, 4-time Second Team

* Etan Thomas (1997–2000) – Twice

Defensive Player of the Year,

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

player * David Tyree (1998–2002) – NFL

selection, Super Bowl Champion * Hakim Warrick (2001–2005) – Big East Men's Basketball Player of the Year,

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

player * Dwayne "Pearl" Washington (1983–1986) – Silver Anniversary

Basketball Team

Nicknames, mascots and colors

Orange is the official school color, adopted as such in 1890. Prior to that time, the school's colors were rose pink and pea green. In 1898, a proposition to add secondary blue color was vehemently opposed by students and alumni. Orange, blue, and white are traditionally used for athletic uniforms. According to an 1890 newspaper article uncovered by the '' Syracuse Post Standard,'' the orange was originally a reference to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, which first colonized New York State. It's common in

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

for place names to make reference to the Dutch heritage. In a similar way, the original settlement that became Albany was called

Fort Orange Fort Orange () was the first permanent Dutch settlement in New Netherland; the present-day city and state capital Albany, New York developed near this site. It was built in 1624 as a replacement for Fort Nassau, which had been built on n ...

. The athletic nickname derives from the official color. Prior to 2004, the official nicknames of the athletic teams were the "Orangemen" and "Orangewomen." These former nicknames are still affectionately used by some fans. However, beginning with the 2004–2005 school year, the official nickname was changed to the "Orange." This revision is

gender-neutral Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, Gender-neutral language, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) ...

, concise, and reflects the basis of the nickname as being the school color. Other nicknames over the years have included the "Hilltoppers," for the school's location on a hill, and the " Saltine Warriors," for a former mascot.

Mascot

The Saltine Warrior

In 1931, a Native American warrior known as Nathan March aka: " Saltine Warrior" became the athletic mascot. The name derived from an article describing an archaeological dig on campus allegedly uncovering the artifacts of a Native American warrior. The warrior was called the "Saltine Warrior" because of the abundant salt deposits in the

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

area. The article was later revealed to be a hoax, but the mascot remained for next four decades. In the mid-1950s, the father of a

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly referred to as Lambda Chi, is a fraternities and sororities, collegiate fraternity in North America. With over 300,000 initiates as of 2024, it is the third-largest social fraternity in the world by number of initia ...

fraternity brother owned a cheerleading camp. He made a Saltine Warrior costume for his son to wear at Syracuse football games. Thus began a nearly forty-year tradition of Lambda Chi brothers serving as the university's mascot. In 1978, the Saltine Warrior was banned by the university as part of the national movement to eliminate Native American motifs, becoming one of the first colleges to do so. The mascot briefly morphed into a Roman warrior, but was eventually replaced unofficially in 1982 by a giant, cartoon-style Orange.

Otto the Orange

The cheerleaders and mascots were at a UCA Cheerleading Camp in Tennessee that summer, and narrowed the field down to two potential names—"Opie" and "Otto." Figuring the name "Opie" would lead to the inevitable rhyme with "dopey," they settled on "Otto." Later that fall, word got out that the cheerleaders were calling the latest mascot costume Otto, and the name stuck. Otto the Orange was adopted by the university in 1995 as the university's official mascot, selected over a wolf and a lion also under consideration.

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = {{CollegePrimaryStyle, Syracuse Orange, color=white , list = {{Atlantic Coast Conference navbox {{Atlantic Hockey America {{Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges {{Sports in Syracuse {{New York Sports