BillSU
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We have just hired someone who is a very, very good person besides being the head of an athletics department.
Bryan Blair: New Syracuse AD
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We have just hired someone who is a very, very good person besides being the head of an athletics department.
orangepassion
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I'm not saying he isn't, but how do you know that?
BillSU
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I thoroughly researched every article there was about him and listened to the interviews available and that is my conclusion. He has an impeccable track record. You have the right to your choice or opinion.
orangepassion
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I don't have any opinion on him.
721Comstock
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LpoolNative
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Wow! Awesome analysis
BillSU
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No!
Mike Tirico, NBC sportscaster, SU trustee and search committee member
“During our process, Bryan’s name came up consistently as the rising star in intercollegiate athletic leadership. His track record of power conference experience, leadership of a thriving athletic department, along with his innovative and successful fundraising brings the perfect blend of skills the job now requires and Syracuse needs.”
BillSU
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I thought I would provide this board with an expansive view of our new AD hire Brian Blair, enjoy:
www.syracuse.com
By
Chris Carlson | ccarlson@syracuse.com
Syracuse, N.Y. — One day after Syracuse hired Bryan Blair as the university’s new athletic director, he said he’s already working on the most pressing decision the school is facing.
Blair told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard in a 30-minute phone interview Friday that he would traditionally spend his first 90 days learning the complexities of his new environment and talking to important people before making any big decisions.
Instead, the former Toledo AD will be pressed into action at Syracuse and asked to immediately hire a men’s basketball coach capable of ending a five-year NCAA Tournament drought and reverse the fading of a historically elite program. Blair said that current athletic director John Wildhack is also part of the hiring process, which is especially helpful for him given the short turnaround. “It’s already started,” Blair said of the coaching search during one of his first interviews since his hiring.
“We’re having ongoing conversations as I continue to get up to speed on the groundwork that has been laid. John has been tremendous in this transition and reaching out and having multiple conversations on how he sees things. I’ve got a very defined process that I want to see take place. We’ll work that process and get a clear profile of what we’re looking for.”
When asked if that meant the basketball coach would be his hire, Blair said the hiring process would be a collaborative effort.
He said that he wants to hire a coach who has a proven ability to evaluate talent, assign value to that talent and produce better results than expected with that talent.
He said he also wants a coach with a track record for both offensive and defensive efficiency. Ideally, he would like an exciting style of play.
“You have to make whatever bucket of money you have stretch as far as you can make it,” Blair said. “That, in a nutshell, is college athletics in 2026. You want to spend the most that you can, but you want to spend it as efficiently as possible.”
Blair said he has not talked to candidates but has spoken to agents. He called the Syracuse job the best opening on the market.
“I have not talked to particular candidates,” Blair said. “The inbound conversations from agents is obviously hot and heavy because this is the best job on the market. We’ll have more conversation and more frequency in the coming days and weeks.”
Blair will begin work at Syracuse full-time in mid-April, but in the meantime he will be transitioning from Toledo and focused on the SU search.
He said the basketball hiring would include input from a variety of people including Wildhack. He does not view the involvement of two athletic directors as problematic.
“We all understand, collectively, where Syracuse basketball sits and where it needs to get to,” Blair said. Syracuse fired men’s basketball coach Adrian Autry earlier this week after three seasons and no NCAA Tournament appearances.
Blair declined to identify any of the candidates he is considering for the job. He declined to provide a timeline for the hiring.
He said he wants the process to move quickly so that a new coach can try to retain players and prepare an offseason plan before the transfer portal opens on April 7.
“We’ll move with pace and urgency,” Blair said. “We’ve got to get this right. We don’t want to rush it, but we’ll move with pace.”
While the amount of money available to build Syracuse’s roster and staff has been part of the team’s struggle under Autry, Blair said he needs to gain a better understanding of the school’s finances before he offered his opinion on those financial details.
Still, he said he believes hiring the right coach will make a substantial impact.
“I don’t think there’s a silver bullet,” Blair said, when asked how to fix the program. “But you can’t overstate the impact of the right coach at the right time.”
Syracuse declined to share the terms of Blair’s contract with the school.
The incoming AD declined to provide specifics about the search including how many times he interviewed and when. He said the process involved face-to-face conversations with incoming Syracuse Chancellor Mike Haynie and members of the school’s seven-person search committee. “I remember Chancellor Haynie called me (to offer me the job) and I told him, ‘I wish you could the smile on my face,’ ” said Blair, who quipped his family had previously been forbidden to associate with anything orange because of Toledo’s rivalry with Bowling Green.
His hiring comes at a critical time for the school, which will need to put its best foot forward in football and halt the fall of its historically elite basketball program.
Schools are allowed to pay athletes approximately $20.5 million on all sports, while outside entities can supplement that income for activities like endorsements.
Blair declined to say whether he believes the school has the resources to thrive at both football and basketball, saying he needs to get a better understanding of the school’s budget. He expressed optimism.
“We will,” Blair said. “We will. I’m still pulling up the hood a little bit to get an understanding of where we are situated.”
He said he’s optimistic because he believes the school’s leaders are committed to winning. He said it’s too early to discuss any changes he anticipates making.
Blair is viewed by supporters as dreaming big and maintaining a positive approach. He said he views the challenge of leading a school where football and basketball both matter as an opportunity.
He said few football-playing schools have the chance to make as much money on basketball as the Orange does. He also said he views the Orange’s women’s basketball program as a potential revenue-generator.
“A lot of times you talk about the stress that creates for a department and on resources,” Blair said. “I think at Syracuse it’s a tremendous opportunity. When you do have those sports operating at an elite level, that makes an athletic department unstoppable.”
New Syracuse AD Bryan Blair on men’s basketball search: ‘This is the best job on the market’
Incoming Syracuse athletic director Bryan Blair said he's already started working on the SU men's basketball search.
By
Chris Carlson | ccarlson@syracuse.com
Syracuse, N.Y. — One day after Syracuse hired Bryan Blair as the university’s new athletic director, he said he’s already working on the most pressing decision the school is facing.
Blair told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard in a 30-minute phone interview Friday that he would traditionally spend his first 90 days learning the complexities of his new environment and talking to important people before making any big decisions.
Instead, the former Toledo AD will be pressed into action at Syracuse and asked to immediately hire a men’s basketball coach capable of ending a five-year NCAA Tournament drought and reverse the fading of a historically elite program. Blair said that current athletic director John Wildhack is also part of the hiring process, which is especially helpful for him given the short turnaround. “It’s already started,” Blair said of the coaching search during one of his first interviews since his hiring.
“We’re having ongoing conversations as I continue to get up to speed on the groundwork that has been laid. John has been tremendous in this transition and reaching out and having multiple conversations on how he sees things. I’ve got a very defined process that I want to see take place. We’ll work that process and get a clear profile of what we’re looking for.”
When asked if that meant the basketball coach would be his hire, Blair said the hiring process would be a collaborative effort.
He said that he wants to hire a coach who has a proven ability to evaluate talent, assign value to that talent and produce better results than expected with that talent.
He said he also wants a coach with a track record for both offensive and defensive efficiency. Ideally, he would like an exciting style of play.
“You have to make whatever bucket of money you have stretch as far as you can make it,” Blair said. “That, in a nutshell, is college athletics in 2026. You want to spend the most that you can, but you want to spend it as efficiently as possible.”
Blair said he has not talked to candidates but has spoken to agents. He called the Syracuse job the best opening on the market.
“I have not talked to particular candidates,” Blair said. “The inbound conversations from agents is obviously hot and heavy because this is the best job on the market. We’ll have more conversation and more frequency in the coming days and weeks.”
Blair will begin work at Syracuse full-time in mid-April, but in the meantime he will be transitioning from Toledo and focused on the SU search.
He said the basketball hiring would include input from a variety of people including Wildhack. He does not view the involvement of two athletic directors as problematic.
“We all understand, collectively, where Syracuse basketball sits and where it needs to get to,” Blair said. Syracuse fired men’s basketball coach Adrian Autry earlier this week after three seasons and no NCAA Tournament appearances.
Blair declined to identify any of the candidates he is considering for the job. He declined to provide a timeline for the hiring.
He said he wants the process to move quickly so that a new coach can try to retain players and prepare an offseason plan before the transfer portal opens on April 7.
“We’ll move with pace and urgency,” Blair said. “We’ve got to get this right. We don’t want to rush it, but we’ll move with pace.”
While the amount of money available to build Syracuse’s roster and staff has been part of the team’s struggle under Autry, Blair said he needs to gain a better understanding of the school’s finances before he offered his opinion on those financial details.
Still, he said he believes hiring the right coach will make a substantial impact.
“I don’t think there’s a silver bullet,” Blair said, when asked how to fix the program. “But you can’t overstate the impact of the right coach at the right time.”
Syracuse declined to share the terms of Blair’s contract with the school.
The incoming AD declined to provide specifics about the search including how many times he interviewed and when. He said the process involved face-to-face conversations with incoming Syracuse Chancellor Mike Haynie and members of the school’s seven-person search committee. “I remember Chancellor Haynie called me (to offer me the job) and I told him, ‘I wish you could the smile on my face,’ ” said Blair, who quipped his family had previously been forbidden to associate with anything orange because of Toledo’s rivalry with Bowling Green.
His hiring comes at a critical time for the school, which will need to put its best foot forward in football and halt the fall of its historically elite basketball program.
Schools are allowed to pay athletes approximately $20.5 million on all sports, while outside entities can supplement that income for activities like endorsements.
Blair declined to say whether he believes the school has the resources to thrive at both football and basketball, saying he needs to get a better understanding of the school’s budget. He expressed optimism.
“We will,” Blair said. “We will. I’m still pulling up the hood a little bit to get an understanding of where we are situated.”
He said he’s optimistic because he believes the school’s leaders are committed to winning. He said it’s too early to discuss any changes he anticipates making.
Blair is viewed by supporters as dreaming big and maintaining a positive approach. He said he views the challenge of leading a school where football and basketball both matter as an opportunity.
He said few football-playing schools have the chance to make as much money on basketball as the Orange does. He also said he views the Orange’s women’s basketball program as a potential revenue-generator.
“A lot of times you talk about the stress that creates for a department and on resources,” Blair said. “I think at Syracuse it’s a tremendous opportunity. When you do have those sports operating at an elite level, that makes an athletic department unstoppable.”
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